We Are The Ones Who Spray-Painted The Air
by The Disposable Villain
Summary: False heroes only hurt everyone around them. Unless everyone is working at their best, they are hurting people. And some people, like Uraraka Ochako, have to take care of these false heroes for the greater good. It's all Stain trained her for. If she has to play the long game to take the end of them out, that's exactly what she's going to do. [KiriBaku, TodoDeku, OchaTsu] [AU]
1. The Girl With The Cheeks

**Hey, guys! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Elliot. So here's my first BNHA story because it's become a special interest real fuckin' quick. So a few notes before I begin;**

**\- In this Katsuki is hard of hearing. It's a popular headcannon, but because of this I've changed his past a bit. Basically he found out when he was nine, and by ten Izuku was giving him notes so he didn't fall behind and he was reluctantly taking them. At some stage, he asked Izuku how he dealt with being broken. He didn't bully Izuku at school, but he wasn't nice to him (even by Katsuki standards). But after school, they would work together training for a while and then do homework. Izuku was with him when the sludge monster attacked the first time, but he grabbed All Might and Katsuki didn't so Katsuki didn't learn as much. The second attack went pretty much the same way, and afterwards Katsuki avoided him a bit because he was embarrassed, but he got over it and trained with Izuku for UA under All Might. Despite this, he didn't know about One for All until Izuku told him - he thought All Might was just taking pity on Izuku because he was quirkless and he decided to go with it. Mainly because he just appeared at the training sessions and All Might let him stay, so he knew that he wasn't the one being pitied.**

**I think those are the only things that you need to know going into the story. I also use UA instead of Yuuei because UA is what's in the subtitles and on the wiki. Oof sorry about that. Hope y'all enjoy!**

* * *

**CW: Fighting, blood, guns, deaf-period, anxiety**

* * *

Ochako had to remind herself to breathe. Even though it was a biological function that she couldn't _forget_, her chest tightened with every slight flicker back to the scene she had just left. The knife in her hand, the man pleading, him screaming as he rose until the knife flew through his throat-

"You did well."

Ochako took a slow breath - in for five, and out for seven. Another. One more. "Thanks." She didn't stand from her place, curled up against the wall on the pavement. They needed to move, but if she stood up too soon, she was going to be sick.

Chizome squatted down beside her. The blood on his scarf was still damp. "Can you breathe?" He asked.

Ochako barely managed a nod. It was getting easier. One would think that after all this time, she'd have gotten used to the blood and the screams, and the smell of shit, and the glassy eyes. But no. She looked up. She could still see the body floating away. Her head throbbed.

It was easier when they were dead, but not by her hand.

"We need to go. Now."

At least she'd had a few moments to steady herself. Ochako pushed herself to her feet, using the grey wall behind her for balance. The damp dirt stuck to the palm of her hand, staining it brown. It was better than the red.

"Ready?"

In lieu of a verbal response, Ochako pressed the pads of her fingers together and her feet lifted off the ground. Chizome grabbed her by her waist and launched up, scaling the walls of the building with ease. Once on the roof, she pressed her fingers together again and mumbled, "Release." The body would be falling. They had to move fast.

Chizome released her and they landed, running and jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Occasionally, Ochako would stumble, or the gap would be too wide for her to jump, so she would use her quirk on herself and launch herself forward again.

They avoided the middle of town. Two figures jumping on top of buildings was too conspicuous a sight, especially with one wielding an almost comical amount of blades, and both of them splattered with blood. Their civilian clothes were stashed in a rucksack in an alleyway by an old, abandoned bar. They changed there, with no cameras in sight, and stuffed their costumes into the bag in its place.

Caps replaced masks, hoodies replaced t-shirts, jeans replaced sweatpants. Ochako pulled her hair loose and hooked the bag over her shoulder. "Are you going to tell me what that mission was for now?" She asked as they began walking.

Chizome stuffed his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, keeping his head turned forward. "You'll know about it when it's time."

Ochako frowned. "I just helped you dispose of-" He gave her a sharp look. "-way too many McDonald's bags. I deserve to know _what it was for_."

"Oh, I'm sorry. You deserve to know?" Chizome scoffed and reached up to adjust his hat. "I figured that giving you a bed, food, clothes, and training was good enough." Ochako looked down. "That's what I thought."

"I'm not a child anymore, Chizome."

"Yes you are." The crowds began to thicken. The way home was awkward with the route they had taken to get away, but it was manageable. Just two different trains and a ten minute walk. "And there are certain things that you don't need to know just yet."

Ochako stayed silent as they used their cards to get on their first train, and then off. As the second train came in, she looked up at him. "He was another false hero, right?" Chizome didn't so much as bat an eyelid. "Native. What did he do?"

"He's a racist twat," Chizome spat. "He didn't deserve to be a hero. None of them did."

Ochako's frown returned, and the train shrieked to a stop. The doors opened and people piled in and out. The two found themselves separated for a minute or two, but worked their way back together once they were on board.

Something was still off. Chizome never kept things like that from her. Hell, he'd even planned some of the Hero Killer Stain's first attacks with her help.

"It wasn't your idea," she mumbled. "Someone put you up to it."

Chizome's shoulders tensed, and he glared at her. Even after all the years she'd lived with him, that glare still froze Ochako as though he had managed to steal a taste of her blood. "It," he began, voice low, "is none of your concern." He leaned back and looked up at the map, though he knew the route by heart.

Ochako gripped the handrail. Her knuckles turned white, and she was relatively sure that she had accidentally activated her quirk on it, but she didn't want to pull away to check.

She didn't speak for the rest of the journey home. The apartment was small, and the block didn't have any working security cameras, which suited them. They only had two rooms - a small kitchen with a shitty heat-sensing smoke alarm that screamed every time they opened the oven if they weren't careful, and a bedroom with two single beds, and a shared bedside table and locker. Ochako studied at the kitchen table, and they also planned any attacks there. Occasionally, they'd curl up on the one bed and watch a film on the portable DVD player that Chizome had bought Ochako for her birthday.

Chizome unlocked the door and pushed it open. They'd replaced the screws in it with twelve-inch ones, but the door was so weak that one kick would probably break it. Ochako set about feeding the black cat that occasionally whined at the window until they let it in. Chizome insisted that it still wasn't their cat and began to cook. By cook, he put a pre-made lasagna in the grease-stained oven and cut some raw carrots.

Once Ochako had filled the cat's bowl with scraps that they couldn't eat, she washed her hands and began to set the table with plastic picnic cutlery.

Chizome looked up from the chopping board. "You have a mission in a few days," he told her. "You won't be alone, but I won't be there."

Ochako hummed. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for her to deal with someone without Chizome. "Are one of the others back in town?" She hadn't seen her adopted siblings in a while. Especially Sei. She missed him, but he was going straight.

"No. Not yet." Chizome finished slicing the carrots and separated them into two piles, then began to dice one pile. "The League of Villains are planning on infiltrating U.A. High School. I want you to go with them."

"The League?" Ochako walked across the tiled floor to him. She scraped the sliced carrots onto a plate and carried it back to the table. "I thought you didn't want to work with them."

"They're convenient," was all Chizome said on that. "And it'll be a good experience for you."

Ochako pulled two glasses down from the grubby press by the window. Both were stained, so she ran them under the tap for a moment to clean them. "What are they planning that you want me to stop?"

Chizome cracked a grin. "You're too observant for your own good."

"No." Ochako dried off the glasses. "I just know you." She walked over to the fridge to get some juice.

"They're planning on breaking into the U.S.J. and taking out class 1-A, along with whatever teachers are there." The oven beeped. "All Might has started teaching at U.A. and there's a high chance that he'll be one of the three, along with Thirteen and Eraserhead."

"You want me to stop them killing All Might?"

"I want you to stop them killing All Might," Chizome confirmed. "And the children. I'm not in the business of watching kids die because the adults watching them are too selfish. One or two of them may grow to be good heroes. The rest deserve a chance to try." He grabbed a pair of oven gloves and took the lasagna out of the oven. "How much do you want?"

"Not a lot." Ochako leaned on the counter and dug the big toe of her left foot into the ground. "What if they suspect me?"

"You need to make sure that they don't." Chizome cut the lasagna into six pieces and lifted one piece with a spatula. "How's that?"

"Perfect." Ochako nudged her plate with the sliced carrots over to him, and he deposited the pasta on it. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He got his own food and followed her over to the table.

Ochako poured them both a glass of juice before sitting down. She'd put the juice back in the fridge after dinner. "Anything other than that?"

Chizome took a bite of his food and chewed slowly. He swallowed. "Keep an eye on Shigaraki," he decided. "He's planning something bigger than this attack, and I don't trust him. He's worse than half of the heroes."

Ochako nodded. "Where will I meet them?"

"The bar a few alleys down from where we stash our clothes. I'll send you the coordinates when you need to get there."

Ochako took a small drink of juice. "And when will the attack happen?"

"Three days."

* * *

All Might wasn't there. It was driving Shigaraki wild. Ochako could see him worrying his neck with bitten-down nails from where she was standing. If she didn't know him, she might have felt bad for him. His anxiety was one of the most high-functioning forms she had come across. As it was, she did know him, and regretted that she did.

It didn't take long for them to be split up as planned, and Ochako knew better than to try to stay near Eraserhead. Some of the novices tried to fight him, but it was those with mutant quirks that were the most effective against him - a type that she didn't possess.

Instead, she hung back until Kurogiri transported everyone. He'd told them all exactly which portals would lead to which areas, so they'd be able to work to their quirk's strengths. Not knowing the quirks of the students made that a little awkward, but not impossible.

Ochako chose the ruins zone. It didn't take her long to find her opponents. In fact, the opponents went looking for them - or at least one did. A boy with spiky blond hair and an explosive costume who laughed as he grabbed the back of one villain's head. His hand exploded.

It was minor; the villain collapsed rather than died. Ochako ducked behind a boulder to watch. The boy's red-haired companion seemed to be trying to calm him down, shouting at him to stop. Despite his complaints, his body turned to rock and he blocked several attacks aimed for the blond boy. An explosion quirk and a hardening quirk. Ochako's lips tugged down. They wouldn't have been her choice of students to deal with, but the explosion boy was making a lot of extra debris that she could use, and a smoke cloud that would hide her.

"Die!" The blond boy shrieked and smashed his knee into the face of one of Ochako's comrades. She couldn't recall his name, or even his quirk, and it didn't matter. He collapsed alongside most of their other companions. His nose looked broken.

Ochako clicked her tongue. She had to start. She tipped various rocks and broken walls and they began to float up above the cloud of smoke. The red-haired boy might be an issue, but she doubted it. They were aiming to kill the blond, not him. She just needed to touch him to get him out of the way.

"Die!" The voice was closer. Too close.

Ochako twisted and managed to block the punch, though it sent her skidding a few inches back. Her eyes narrowed behind her mask. She was on the outskirts, so- She glanced to the side.

Everyone bar her had been taken out. What- what the _fuck_? Everyone? Everyone. She twisted to avoid an explosion and aimed a sidekick at the blond.

"Bakugou!" The red-haired boy yelled from a few feet away. The blond rolled out of her way.

She lowered her leg. Bakugou. His parents weren't heroes then, nor any family member with that name.

Bakugou rolled into a crouch and glared up at her. "Fucking talk, why don't you?" He spat.

Ochako resisted the urge. If she riled him up enough, he would make a mistake. She twisted as the red-haired boy lunged at her with a loud cry. They really didn't seem to understand that you weren't meant to warn an enemy before attacking them.

Ochako swerved out of the way, but the boy was faster than she'd anticipated. She managed to brush his arm with her fingertips, but he slammed a rock hard fist into her gut.

Ochako staggered back and gagged. Her breath caught in her chest. Breathe. _Breathe_. She glared at him, though he couldn't see it. It was enough. The boy shrieked as he began to float.

Bakugou looked up, eyes wide. "Fucking grab something, shitty hair!"

Shitty Hair scrambled for something, but Ochako picked up the boulder she had hidden behind earlier and hurled it at him. She had to incapacitate them in some way.

Bakugou raised his arm and pulled something by his wrist. It looked like- "Fuck!" Ochako was thrown off her feet by the blast and she landed hard on the rocky ground beneath her. The boulder was blasted through the windows at the far end of the USJ.

It threw Shitty Hair further away, but it was to his advantage. He had managed to grab onto a tree to stop himself from climbing higher towards the roof. Ochako glanced up. It wasn't enough yet.

She grimaced and dragged herself to her feet. Bakugou was stalking towards her. "I hate cowards like you," he snarled. "Die already!" He lunged and Ochako took the explosion, crossing her arms to minimise the damage. She bent down and brushed her fingers against every rock she could reach.

Once Bakugou could see her, he attacked again. More smoke, more debris, more ammo.

"Bakugou, don't let her touch you!" Shitty Hair yelled.

If Bakugou heard him, he didn't react. Good. Ochako kept close to the ground. Every time she was knocked back, the explosions would uproot more and more rocks and debris.

"Fucking fight me!" Bakugou roared at her, and another explosion followed. Ochako's eyes flickered up. Perfect.

The smoke cleared a second earlier than she expected, and she pressed the pads of her fingers together. "Release!"

Shitty Hair yelled as he fell from the tree, and Bakugou looked up. Ochako saw his eyes widen. Ochako ran forward. Now, now, now. Bakugou extended his hand and blasted the rocks away. A few still managed to hit him and he stumbled back. Smoke descended over the area again, and Ochako tore her hoodie off. Now, now, now.

She flung it one way and slipped the other, behind Bakugou. He aimed a blast at it, and turned a second too late.

Ochako's fingers stretched forward. _Now_.

"Don't touch him!" Shitty Hair barrelled into her side, knocking her away from Bakugou. Ochako hissed as she landed on her side. Shards from her broken rocks scraped at her arms.

Ochako forced herself to her feet. She hadn't been counting on him recovering so quickly.

Bakugou took a step towards her and Ochako brought up her guard, just like Chizome had taught her. On her toes, one fist protecting the front of her face, one fist protecting the side. "Why are you here?" Bakugou demanded.

"That's none of your business." Ochako darted forward. Shitty Hair didn't expect her speed - he hadn't been fighting her. Bakugou moved to protect him, hand raised to blast Ochako back. Instead, he staggered and gripped his wrist. He had reached his limit, probably several minutes ago.

But Ochako didn't change her target. She twisted and ran past him, touching a broken pillar three times her size.

"I'm sorry." She lifted it. Only Shitty Hair reacted to her words. "I wasn't planning on this." She swung at them. Both boys braced themselves for impact, but the door to the USJ burst open and Ochako dropped her weapon.

"I am here!" A voice boomed. She was a bit too far away to be a hundred percent certain, but there was only one person who had made that their catch phrase, and he didn't seem to be smiling.

* * *

Even Katsuki heard the door crash open and All Might's voice, so he wasn't surprised when the chubby girl dropped the pillar and stared. Bakugou hit the pillar away, and it floated up to the roof. What he _was_ surprised to see was that she didn't seem scared. No, it was like she was looking at All Might with awe.

Katsuki's fist clenched. "Look at me when you're fighting!" He sprinted forward, but the girl touched her fingers together and kicked off the ground. His explosion hit nothing - if anything, it only propelled her closer to where she seemed to want to go. All Might.

Kirishima grabbed his arm and said something. Katsuki had to turn to face him to catch it fully, because it sounded like Kirishima was being muffled by cloth.

"-need to go help All Might."

"I fucking know that!" Katsuki glared after the girl but started running. He couldn't use many more blasts, and he wanted to save them for fighting. Not a showy arrival. "Hurry up, Shitty Hair!"

"My hair's fine!" Kirishima was closer than he'd thought.

Katsuki ground his teeth. Maybe he should have- no. No, he didn't fucking need them. He _didn't_. He wasn't broken. He pushed himself faster, faster, following the floating girl. All Might was fast, and though Katsuki estimated that he was somewhere in the middle of the USJ, he couldn't see him.

The villain could.

"Where the fuck's Pikachu?" Katsuki growled. "We need him!" Kaminari could just shock the fuck out of everyone.

"Probably… -rent section…"

Katsuki couldn't quite hear the entire sentence. It didn't matter - Kaminari wasn't there, so they couldn't use him. Katsuki turned right at a fork in the path, towards the shipwreck zone. Someone came up beside him. Not Kirishima - he saw a flash of white. Todoroki.

"You'd better not slow me down," Katsuki snarled. If Todoroki replied, he didn't hear it. The trees surrounding the path faded and they emerged in the shipwreck zone.

And Deku - stupid fucking Deku - was running towards the middle of the goddamn fight. He was going to get himself killed.

Katsuki fired an explosion behind him, launching himself forward as the void appeared in front of Deku. "Get the hell out of my way Deku!"

Deku jumped back and Katsuki's hand caught something metal. He slammed the creature down, tightening his grip.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," he hissed. "You use your mist to hide your body, right? I'm guessing if this metal brace gets destroyed, you will too." He allowed his palm to heat up. "Do you think an explosion would do the trick?" The void didn't attempt to escape, and ice froze the giant creature with the protruding brain to the spot. It was half submerged in the void, holding All Might, and with Bakugou holding the body down, neither of them could move. The ice stopped just before it reached All Might's body and he jumped out of the creature's grip.

Kirishima lunged at the guy with skin so dry it hurt Katsuki's face.

"Release!" The girl dropped from the sky and landed on Kirishima. She touched his back and he began floating up.

Shit. Katsuki's grip tightened on the metal cylinder. He had forgotten about her. And her boulder had crashed through the windows near here. A wrong move and Kirishima would be gone.

"Deku, fucking do something!"

Deku jumped, not as high as he normally would, and managed to grab Kirishima's wrist. With his weightlessness, Deku was able to pull him down and to safety, but until the girl released him, he'd be out of commission. They both would be.

"Nice work, Infinity." The words sounded almost like a whisper, but Katsuki could hear them clearly. He winced. He didn't like it. "Kurogiri, how could you let them get close to you like that?"

Around Katsuki, the void's 'body' writhed restlessly. Katsuki grinned and leaned closer, letting off a few light explosions. Just enough to hurt. "I thought I told you not to move. Try anything funny and I'll blow your ass up right here."

Behind him, something cracked. He turned his head to see the creature All Might had been fighting force its way up. Todoroki had entirely frozen its right side, and its arm and leg broke off.

"Noumu," the corpse-looking fucker muttered. "Get him."

The arm and leg were back, and Noumu lunged towards Bakugou. He didn't even have time to tense up - a force hit him and flung him back, and he skidded to a halt in the middle of the three boys.

Deku hardly noticed him. Hell, _Katsuki_ hardly even noticed the movement himself. "Kacchan, you dodged?"

"Shut up," he hissed. His chest ached.

The Noumu was standing right where he had been, and several trees beyond were split in two. Smoke and dust kicked up from the attack faded away and All Might stood. His arm was still raised from blocking, and part of his shirt was torn due to the force of the attack. "You went full force on a _child_?"

"I had no choice." The corpse scratched his neck. "He was threatening my companion." Kurogiri was beside him again. None of them were even looking at Katsuki, though they had been ready to kill him.

Katsuki staggered to his feet. "He's outnumbered."

Deku nodded, and his body tensed. "We need to help-"

All Might raised a hand, as though to block them from getting anywhere near the villains. "Get out of here!" All Might called to them. "I'll handle it." Katsuki scowled.

"You would have been in trouble without us earlier." Todoroki flexed his fingers. They seemed stiff - he'd already overused his quirk. "You need us."

All Might lowered his hand again and turned his back on them. "I can handle it. Just stand back and watch a pro at work."

Katsuki scanned the villains. Super strength, regeneration, and shock absorption, from the look of it. Warping. And whatever the corpse's quirk was.

He narrowed his eyes. But _where _was the fucking floaty girl? He saw her a second too late, as All Might and the Noumu lunged at one another.

"All Might!" Deku screamed.

The girl landed on the Noumu's back, touched its neck, and then leapt off, just as All Might attacked. Shock absorption was effective against damage, but it couldn't do much about force. Not when the Noumu was weightless.

All Might's first punch hit, and his second. His third hit the air, the Noumu already crashing up through the windows. The lights exploded around them, the USJ dimming.

Katsuki stared.

"Did she just-?" Kirishima began.

"A villain saved All Might…"

All Might landed on one knee. He was still bleeding from where the Noumu's claws earlier. It looked bad, even through his shirt, but it could have been so much worse.

The corpse could only stare for a second. "You!" He snarled, voice hoarse beneath the hand shielding his face. He turned on the chubby girl, who pressed her fingers together.

"Release!"

Bakugou looked up. She had pulled a similar trick to the one on him, though he didn't know when she had gathered the rocks. Perhaps when he was running after her and she had gone out of sight.

The corpse didn't even react, stretching his hand towards her face. He was right not to - Kurogiri had already taken care of her rocks.

Deku jumped - properly jumped, far faster than before. Katsuki heard his bones crack. Kirishima stayed grounded.

"Don't you touch her!" Deku's fist was already pulled back, and the chubby girl's hand was reaching forward. A portal appeared in front of all three of them. Deku's fist went through one, aimed at the chubby girl, and she grabbed his wrist instead of the corpse's. The corpse reached through the portal for Deku instead.

Move. Move! Katsuki braced himself and All Might was already running, but they wouldn't be fast enough- A boom stopped them. Blood spurted from the corpse's hand and he shrieked, pulling it back. The chubby girl yanked Deku through the portal before it could close and- and cut off his wrist or some crap like that. Katsuki didn't fucking know what that quirk was fully capable of. Deku fell and stayed down. He didn't look like he could move if his life depended on it.

"Sorry everyone!" A voice boomed. Katsuki looked towards the main entrance. "Sorry we're late!" From what he could see, every teacher was making their way towards various zones. Explosions wracked the area, and shrieks that even made Katsuki wince. Present Mic was on his way to them.

The corpse gripped his wrist. "They're here." He backed up a few steps. Katsuki couldn't catch what he was saying anymore. He was too damn quiet. But it didn't matter. Another shot - again - again - again. The corpse collapsed and Kurogiri wrapped himself around him as a shield.

He was getting smaller, but he was being pulled back by something- Katsuki turned to see Thirteen behind them, being propped up by Soy Sauce, or whatever his name was.

A piece of Kurogiri shot out in a thin string and expanded beneath the chubby girl. She cursed and reached for someone. All Might - Deku - Katsuki.

"No!" All Might lunged for her - so close. She fell. His hand closed around black mist.

The corpse laughed and All Might turned to face him. "I may have failed this time, but I will kill you next time, All Might, Symbol of Peace." His face vanished, along with the end of the dark mist.

Katsuki could see Deku struggling to stand, he could see the smoke that seemed to come from All Might, he could see Kirishima trying to engage him, but his ears were ringing too much to take it in. Not from overusing his quirk, though he had. He just stared at the spot that the chubby girl had been taken from.

He couldn't do anything right.

* * *

By the time Izuku woke up, it was dark out. His mom had already been notified that he would probably be home late, but she had been told he was relatively unharmed, along with all of the other students. All Might had told her, of course. She might not have believed it from anyone else.

Once Recovery Girl deemed him able to leave, he dressed again and left the room, but he stayed in the infirmary. He couldn't leave. Not without seeing how All Might and Aizawa were doing. He peeked into various rooms, but all bar two were empty. In one, Kacchan was still in the bed, though he was awake - which was odd. Izuku hadn't seen him getting hurt.

He paused there for a moment until Kacchan saw him. With a grunt, Kacchan jerked his head in a way that indicated Izuku could come in. "Can you talk right now?"

Izuku hesitated, and then nodded. "Yeah." The day had been overwhelming, and he was almost surprised that he hadn't gone non-verbal. "Can you hear?"

Kacchan hesitated as well; he didn't have to answer.

Izuku grabbed one of the plastic chairs and pulled it up beside his bed. 'Are you doing okay?' He signed.

Kacchan followed his hands for about half of the question before scoffing. "I'm fine," he decided. "It's not a big issue. It happens. They're just keeping me in because of my wrist."

Yes. _It_ had been happening more and more since they were nine, and Kacchan had gone up to him one day in the bathrooms after missing a week of school to ask how Izuku coped with being broken. It had been happening more and more frequently since then. Now it was happening after nearly every battle - training or otherwise, it appeared. He still hadn't told any of the teachers that he was going deaf.

'You need to start wearing your hearing aids.' Izuku's hands faltered when Kacchan glared at him, but he kept going. 'It's bad that you can't hear what's happening-'

"This-" Kacchan pointed at his ear. "-is happening because my explosions are _too damn loud_ in the first place. I don't need hearing aids."

'What about earplugs?'

Kacchan laughed. "Yeah, fat lot of fucking good they'll do." He shook his head. "I'm not going to accept being broken unless someone kills me, got it? I'm going to be a pro-hero, no matter what."

Izuku ground his teeth and stood up. 'You're being selfish,' was all he signed before he left the room. Kacchan didn't call him back.

He hated this. Kacchan had been doing better - he'd tried to blast farther away from his ears when he was practicing, and Izuku had even helped him to learn sign language and offered him notes, in case he'd missed anything in class. He'd taken the help privately, though they kept up a largely tense-appearing relationship in school. Kacchan hadn't wanted anyone to know that he was broken.

Then came All Might. Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. There was no point. He paused at the next closed door. Kacchan had trained with him under All Might when Izuku was preparing to receive One For All, even if he hadn't known why All Might had taken such interest in Izuku, or what they were planning. He had done exactly what he'd been told, but his own practice sessions with Izuku had stopped being fun. They went to class, then sparred, Izuku gave Kacchan the notes, and they went their separate ways. Some days without talking.

It was his fault.

"It was my fault."

Izuku blinked a few times and shook off the dissociation as best as he could. He moved a little closer to the door.

"Toshi, that's not true."

"I let them take her, Naomasa- God, she's a child. She couldn't be older than 1-A."

Izuku leaned closer. He recognised All Might's voice, and felt like he should know the other. Naomasa.

"She still attacked the school with them." That was Aizawa. "Villain's aren't all of age."

"She's a child," All Might repeated. "She could have been forced or- I don't know that I could have beat Noumu without her, and she also saved Young Midoriya."

Izuku swallowed. There had been a small bruise forming on his wrist before he'd fallen asleep, but it seemed to be gone now. Of course it was. Bruises didn't stand a chance against Recovery Girl.

"We have to find her."

Izuku's head jerked up.

"Toshi," Naomasa murmured, "we know nothing about her aside from her quirk, rough age, and hair colour. She was working with the League-"

"They took her," Aizawa mumbled. His voice sounded muffled. "I tried to block the one who could teleport - to erase his quirk. She was trying to get help."

He should have been close enough. He should have been able to help. Izuku raised a fist and knocked on the door. For a moment, there was silence. Then the door cracked open and a dark-haired man in a shirt and tie peered out.

"Detective Tsukauchi-" Izuku bowed his head. Naomasa. That was him. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see how All Might and Aizawa-sensei were doing and-"

"It's alright, my boy," All Might called. "Come in."

Tsukauchi held the door open for him, and Izuku almost crept past him. All Might was sitting with Present Mic, beside Aizawa's bed. Izuku's body flushed cold when he saw Aizawa.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Aizawa said, before Izuku could even regain enough muscle control to close his jaw. His homeroom teacher was covered in bandages entirely - everything but his nose, eyes, and mouth.

"I think you're scaring him more than you would have if you said nothing." Tsukauchi sat down in his seat beside All Might again.

Izuku shook his head. "N-no, it's fine." He hesitated. "Did Recovery Girl-?"

"She did what she could do." Aizawa shifted a little. "My legs are fine, and the rest of me will be soon. I'll be back to normal within a few days."

Present Mic scowled and launched into a flurry of signs that Izuku couldn't quite read from his angle. He only stopped when Aizawa nodded at Izuku, and he lowered his hands. Aizawa cleared his throat. "Maybe two weeks," he amended.

"What about you, All Might?" Izuku looked over at him.

All Might just grinned. "Right as rain, Young Midoriya." He flashed what could have been a peace sign, but it wasn't. They both knew it, even though Midoriya wasn't meant to - not in front of people who didn't know about One For All. Two. He had reduced his limit again to only two hours.

Izuku's throat tightened. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be of more help today," he mumbled. "I'll work harder and-"

"You shouldn't have had to deal with that in the first place," Tsukauchi commented. "We're working to make sure that it never happens again."

"Besides-" Aizawa shifted again and ignored the frown on Present Mic's face as he did so. "-you did well. All of you. But for now you should go home and rest. Your mother will be worried."

"Thank you for taking the time to check on us." All Might stood, pushing off his knees with his hands. He moved stiffly, despite his reassurance that he was fine. He placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Izuku paused and scratched the inside of his thumb with his index finger. He should have brought his fidget cube. "Can I ask one more question?"

All Might nodded and squeezed his shoulder. "Of course."

Izuku tried to focus on his face, but found himself looking at each of them in turn. "What are you planning on doing about the girl with the gravity quirk?"

All Might hesitated for a second too long before he smiled. "She's your age, and likely to be there against her will. We'll get her out safely."

None of the others spoke.

Izuku nodded. "Thank you." He turned towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night."

"You too, Midoriya," Aizawa sighed.

Izuku slid the door closed behind him, but waited. Just a minute. Then he would go. No one spoke for a few seconds.

"You shouldn't have done that, Toshi."

"We'll find her, Shouta. We have to."

"We all know that we mightn't be able to." Aizawa sighed again, heavier this time. "You can't save people that you can't reach."

* * *

Katsuki threw his bag down at the door once he was inside and kicked off his shoes. His mom was on him immediately, checking for any injuries.

"The school called and said there was an attack, and you weren't picking up-"

Katsuki's fists clenched. He could barely hear her. "I'm fine, hag," he snapped. "I just want to fucking sleep."

"Don't speak to me like that!" Mitsuki yelled. At the very least he never had any issues hearing her once the initial effects of using his quirk faded. "I was worried sick about you, brat!"

"Well I'm fucking fine, aren't I?" He pushed past her and stormed upstairs, slamming his door behind him. It shook on its hinges. He flopped onto his bed, and the angry tension that had flooded his body since the villains appeared just drained away, leaving nothing but exhaustion and a slight twinge of guilt.

Katsuki closed his eyes. He wasn't even bothered to change out of- wait. His eyes flashed open. Shit. He sat up and pulled off his shirt, and then his binder. He stretched his arms above his head and coughed. He'd worn it for twelve hours again. Plus he'd fought in it. He pulled a t-shirt on instead of his uniform shirt and fell back onto the bed. His ribs ached, and with the lack of pressure, he felt the day's toll on his body. He let his eyes slide closed again and didn't wake until he felt a hand on his arm.

He jolted awake, the vague memory of Kirishima floating up, up, up out of his reach and his life fresh in his mind from the dream. His dad's brown eyes watched him, and Katsuki lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. His body shook against his will. His father returned the hug, arms tight around Katsuki's body.

"I've got you," Katsuki heard him whisper. It sounded like a whisper, anyway, even right next to his ear.

Katsuki's eyes flickered around the room. Dark - night. Hallway lights on - before midnight. Masaru's shoes on - just home, at least half seven. Mouth dry - dehydrated. He closed his eyes and tried again. The curtains were drawn, but the streetlights didn't shine enough light in to have disturbed him. It cast an eerie gloom over the room, painting it navy and gold. His alarm tick tick ticked, and his binder was thrown on the carpet alongside his blazer and shirt. He had no idea where his tie was.

He forced himself to take a slow breath. What was he doing? Why was he so freaked out, what was the dream even about? Maybe it was just the sudden wake-up? Katsuki forced himself to release Masaru and glanced at the clock. Almost nine.

Katsuki rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to sleep that long."

Masaru shook his head. Brown hair tumbled over his forehead. "It's alright, Katsuki. Your mother left you some dinner."

Katsuki grunted and lay back, closing his eyes. He heard a low mumble, and opened his eyes again. "What?"

'Do you need a minute to wake up?' His dad signed.

Katsuki huffed. "No, I'm fine." He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Just a weird dream." Had it something to do with a shark? He couldn't remember anymore.

"It's alright." Masaru patted Katsuki's leg. "We were worried about you today."

Katsuki huffed. "It's not like they called you while I was still fighting, so you knew I was fine."

"We didn't know what had happened to you." Masaru leaned back a little bit, propping himself up with one arm on the mattress. "All we were told was that you were involved with a villain attack and that Recovery Girl had taken care of your injuries. We didn't know how severe they were, or if-" If his hearing had gone again.

Katsuki looked away. "I'm fine," he repeated. "All Might was there." If he hadn't been, Katsuki would have died. The chubby girl wanted to save All Might, for whatever reason. Not a bunch of kids like him.

Masaru blinked slowly, almost like a cat. "Are you feeling okay?"

Something welled up in Katsuki's throat - something thick and heavy. "There was a kid there," he mumbled. "Someone my age. She was a villain, but she saved All Might, and-" He shook his head. "They took her with them. She tried to reach out for someone and I was close enough but I couldn't-" He'd tried to reach, right? Or had his arms been glued to his sides? He couldn't even remember.

"Hey." Masaru moved closer to him and wrapped his arms around Katsuki again. "Hey, it's okay. You did your best, and I'm sure the pros will find her."

Katsuki shook his head, rage building again. It wasn't fair - he knew that. His dad hadn't done anything wrong. But she was _his age_. "What if they don't?"

Masaru squeezed him. "You have to believe that they will."

Katsuki wasn't sure that he could. Heroes were one of Deku's special interests, and because of all of his rants and their shared enjoyment of watching documentaries, he knew that too many missing person cases went unsolved. They didn't know her name, family, where she lived - nothing. They barely even knew her quirk.

But Katsuki nodded, to calm Masaru. He didn't want to make his dad even more anxious. "Right."

Masaru clapped Katsuki's back and slowly pulled away. "Do you want to come down and eat?" He asked. "It might help with the exhaustion. Healing can take a lot of energy."

Katsuki shrugged one shoulder, but stood up to follow his dad downstairs. "Yeah, sure."

It wasn't like he could do much else.

* * *

**Oh also yeah I killed Native instead of having him in the fight with Stain during the internships. Nothing changes in that fight, really. Just a different hero with that blood-type. Hope you guys enjoyed! I'll do my best to update weekly. Please review and let me know what you think!**


	2. The White

**Heyo! Sorry this is a bit late but I hope you'll enjoy it! I meant to upload these on Saturdays every week but I forgot about ffn so y'all get two chapters today. I tend to update a bit more regularly on AO3!**

* * *

**CW: Fighting, death, white torture**

* * *

Chizome wasn't alone when he woke up, nor did he expect to be. He knew nothing good would come out of this stupid plan that Shigaraki had come up with, and he had fucking _warned_ him that it was too much too soon, but had he listened? No. Of course not.

He was a disgrace to his legacy.

Instead of getting rid of a fake hero and going home like any ordinary fucking day, Chizome had to deal with Shigaraki's fucking mess. If he hadn't had to go after the Noumu and save one of the few good heroes he'd ever come across - a kid Ochako's age, no less - then he wouldn't have passed out. And then he wouldn't have woken up, strapped down by his wrists and ankles to a hospital bed in a room the size of a large cupboard with one window with bars over it.

White walls, blue curtains, blue bedsheets. The only splash of colour was a putrid yellow painting of sunflowers, and an almost matching head of hair on a skeletal man in the armchair beside his bed.

They looked nothing alike, but Chizome knew that energy, that glint - the charisma. "All Might," he muttered. His voice cracked.

All Might reached for the glass on his bedside table - it was full of water, and a pink plastic straw protruded from it. "Do you want a drink?"

Chizome leaned forward. His mouth tasted like death, and his head pounded. He drank deeply, and within moments, he had drained the entire glass.

"Do you want some more?"

He did, but less than he wanted answers, so he lay back. "Where am I?"

"In a specific hospital set up to care for villains," All Might responded, setting the glass down on the wooden table. "You'll be looked after here by highly skilled medical professionals until there comes a time where you are healthy enough to be transferred to one of the maximum-security prisons in Japan."

"How long have I been out?"

"About three days."

"And you've been here for-?"

"An hour or two. The nurses said you were waking up."

Chizome nodded slowly and looked up at the ceiling. The bulb was soft and had a light blue shade. It eased his eyes and pounding head. "How injured am I?"

"Two ribs pierced your left lung and you have multiple broken bones," All Might listed. "You also have a concussion and sprained your right wrist, and tore your right rotator cusp. You'll need to learn how to use your right arm again."

Chizome grunted. That was fine. He was left-handed. He'd deal with it. He shifted slightly and rolled his shoulders. All Might didn't seem worried that he'd escape, but then again, All Might could kill him with a single punch if he deemed it necessary. He wouldn't, though. That was why he was a pure hero. "And my sentence?"

"A lifetime imprisonment without parole." All Might folded his arms. "You can't have expected less. You've killed dozens of heroes."

"They weren't heroes." Chizome turned to scowl at All Might. "Racists, abusers, rapists, thieves, sexists-"

"Murder is no way to weed out your idea of fake heroism." All Might glared at him.

"They never deserved to be called heroes in the first place," Chizome insisted, straining against his bonds to sit up. He failed.

All Might sighed and rubbed his forehead. In this form, his clothes hung off him like they would a clothes hanger, and every bone seemed to stick out of his body in odd places. "I didn't come here to discuss the rightness or wrongness of your actions." He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. Something creaked, but Chizome wasn't certain if it was the plastic chair or his bones. It could have been either. "There's a girl that you mentioned in your attack - Deku heard you." Deku. The one he had saved. "The one with the flotation quirk."

Chizome pursed his lips and looked away. A piece of greasy black hair fell into his eyes. "I'm afraid I can't tell you about that, All Might."

"Why not?"

Chizome shook his head. It hurt, and he had to move slowly. His eyes were fixed on the window - he could just see the blue sky beyond, and white clouds.

"Agakuro."

Chizome started, but it made sense that All Might knew his name.

"This girl saved me during the attack on USJ by the League of Villains. They were in Hosu while you were, and you don't seem like the kind of person to willingly work with them."

"I'm not," Chizome spat. It made his mouth drier. "They're a disgrace to humanity, and run by a manchild."

"Then surely you want to give that child a chance," All Might urged. "She must have some good in her if she worked to save me - and Deku too. She stopped the Noumu, and Shigaraki turning him to dust."

Chizome hummed. So she had done well. He had presumed as much, when the League had taken her, but she had been caught. He closed his eyes. "I want to sleep."

All Might stood up abruptly, knocking the chair over. "You're putting an innocent girl in danger!"

"Telling you anything would be endangering her further." Chizome didn't open his eyes. The ceiling light made circular patterns dance under his eyelids. "I'm sorry, All Might. I respect you more than anyone else, but this is not a matter of respect. This is the life of someone who could be a true hero. Just like you."

"She's worked with the League, and with you. That means she's killed."

"Never without reason." Chizome looked up at him. "Eraserhead has had to kill, but he's also a true hero. Maybe not on your level, but far, far above most others."

All Might considered him for a moment before picking up his chair and sitting down again. "She deserves a chance at a normal life," he began again.

"She'll never have that."

"She deserves a free life."

Chizome didn't object. Of course she did. Every child deserved a free life, but it wasn't what they always got.

"How can you judge 'false' heroes?" All Might whispered, voice shaking. Chizome looked at him again. "They at least help people who need them, even if they don't start out for the right reasons. You won't even give me information to save a _child_ from a life of unimaginable pain at the hands of the League."

"It-" Chizome began, but cut himself off. It doesn't matter if they helped people, right? It was their reasons for becoming heroes that mattered. Right?

He frowned. He had killed for the right reasons. He'd gotten rid of the poisonous sludge of humanity - those who didn't deserve to be called _human_.

_"Come on, Ochako. She won't hurt you anymore."_

His eyes snapped shut.

_"Let's go, Chizome. I've got you - he's not going to hurt you again."_

He was just following his mentor. He was right, he knew he was. But his eyes itched and burned, and he couldn't even rub them. "Her name is Ochako," he mumbled. "Her surname was Uraraka."

"Was?"

"I took her when she was five." He sniffed, but it had nothing to do with his eyes. "Her parents had died a year or two before, and she was living with her aunt-"

"Amythest," All Might recalled. "She was foreign - could command any rock-based objects."

"Her." Chizome's lip curled. "She was no hero. She kept Ochako locked away in the basement - in an unplugged freezer if she was bad. I don't know what else." He looked away. "I killed her when she was at home, and I heard Ochako crying. I got her out, and she lived with me until recently."

All Might was staring at him. "How many children have you taken?"

"Seven in total." Chizome rolled his shoulders again. "Ochako is the only one still living with me. Her siblings sometimes come to visit."

All Might leaned forward again. "Why?"

"Why take them?" All Might nodded, and Chizome scoffed. "They had nowhere else to go, but even nowhere was better than the conditions they were in. They deserved better, so I gave them what I could." He sighed. "That was years ago. I had to stop. If they had relatives, they went to them instead of their fake hero parents."

"You should have told the police instead."

"Sei called the police six times in the week before his father tried to burn him alive." Chizome turned to him again. The chain connecting the leather strap on his wrist to the bed clinked. "They don't care."

All Might fell silent, and Chizome didn't offer any more information until he was asked. "What else?"

"She's fifteen." His voice was quieter now. "Her quirk is zero gravity. She can take away the gravity of whatever object she touches, including herself, and return it. We were working on her regulating how much gravity she took, or even giving gravity, but she hadn't managed to get a hang of it when she was taken."

"Where might the League have taken her?"

"The bar." Chizome shook his head again. "But it doesn't matter. They'll have left it by now. You'd have to search every bar in the city a dozen times to find them. They're found when they want to be found."

"Is Shigaraki their leader?"

"No." He could see All Might pale. "Their leader is a man named All For One. I never met him directly."

All Might swallowed and took a few deep breaths. His hand was shaking. "Will she come with me if we find her?"

Chizome hummed. "She might." He looked up at the ceiling again. There wasn't much else to look at. "Sing _Piano Man _if she doesn't, and she'll go."

"I-" All Might didn't end up questioning it. "Thank you." He stood up. "I need to go."

"You saved me," Chizome murmured. All Might sat again. "When you made your debut. My father was drunk and driving - he was one of the first cars to crash. You pulled me out only minutes before the pile exploded."

All Might nodded. "I remember."

"You were my hero." Chizome shook his head. "The reason I started my purge. I felt more heroes should be like you and I didn't know how to stop ones who weren't."

"You can't stop heroes like the ones you're talking about." All Might slipped his hands into his pockets. "But even still, it doesn't matter so much as long as all heroes are dedicated to helping everyone that they can. But you can help more true heroes have the chance to reach their full potential, and maybe then they'll outnumber the bad ones." He stood for a moment in silence, as though waiting for response, but Chizome only gave a thoughtful hum.

When All Might turned to leave, Chizome looked at him one last time. "Make sure you find her."

All Might turned back to him and tensed. Suddenly, the form that Chizome was used to was in his room. "I will."

* * *

Ochako didn't open her eyes when she woke. Some days were like that now - she just lay and pretended she was still asleep. Sometimes even she fell for her own act and daydreamed enough to mimic actual dreams, and others she really did fall back asleep.

This was not one of those days.

After a few minutes of lying with her eyes closed, she sat up. The wooden bench she slept on creaked under her weight, and she had to blink a few times to get used to the light. It was blinding, but she had grown used to sleeping under it each night. Or day. Under constant white light with no windows, she couldn't tell what was night and what was day.

Even meal patterns didn't help. Sometimes they fed her consistently, and others… Once she had been too hungry to move.

She rolled her shoulders and began to walk around the edges of her cell. It wasn't large; eight feet squared. Ochako had measure it on her third day, when she grew bored of counting the white tiles on the floor for the thirtieth time. The walls were white too - and the ceiling. Even the door and the bed had been painted white. Her meals were plain rice and boiled chicken.

She knew what they were doing, and she worked to avoid falling into the spiral they planned for. She still had her old clothes - and though they were little more than rags now, they were grey. It had to have been a month since she was brought in. Maybe more. It had to be.

She took a deep breath and stopped pacing. Stretch. She started with her hands, focusing on their pink colour. They weren't as pink as they used to be - more greying now. But they weren't white. She had dug various red crescents into the backs of her hands when it got too much - to quiet, too still, too white. It wasn't a sensory overload as much as an underload, and she despised it.

But some things eased the pain. She continued her stretches - arms, legs, hips, ankles, neck. Then her work out began. She only did it on days where she could bare the thought of moving - but on those days, she made sure to do it. Air punches first - she managed sixty on each arm before deciding to begin lifting. There being nothing to lift, she just mimicked the arm movements she did while lifting weights and quadrupled her usual amount on each arm.

Then she began her kicks. Side kicks against the wall, axe kicks, front snap kicks, high kicks, back-turning kicks, everything she could possibly think of. She did a series of side kicks across the room without letting her front leg touch the floor for endurance. Then came her push-ups, scissor kicks, hip raises, sit-ups-

By the time she had finished, her muscles ached and sweat dripped down her forehead, but she was better. It was better than pretending to sleep.

Ochako stared down at her hands. A line of red crescents marred her palms, but they weren't bleeding. They'd be gone by morning, or whenever she next woke up. She let her eyes slide closed. "It's nine o'clock on a Saturday," she whispered. "The regular crowd shuffles in… there's an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and-"

Ochako fell through the floor.

She didn't scream - she knew better than that. But she squeezed her eyes shut. She could never handle the overload that came after the sensory deprivation of her cell.

She landed in a cushioned chair and sucked in a deep breath. The smell of day-old pizza and _Fabreeze_ almost made her sick. It had been a while since they brought her to the bar.

"Open your eyes, Infinity."

She didn't want to, but she did. The rush of colours made her shut them again in seconds. Too much brown, purple, blue, grey - everything but white and red.

"Open them!"

Four fingers touched the top of her head. She didn't want a fifth up there. She cracked them open this time, allowing herself a few seconds with each millimetre.

Shigaraki granted her that privilege at least. When she was able to keep them open and her world stopped spinning, he lifted his hand from her hair.

"How are you doing?" Kurogiri asked.

Ochako didn't look at him, eyes fixed on Shigaraki. His left hand was by his side, and his right on the bar. She focused on the left. Breathe. Don't let them know that it didn't affect her in the way they hoped, but don't let them know it affected her.

"Kurogiri asked you a question," Shigaraki sneered. "Are you going to answer?"

Ochako didn't look away from his left hand. "I'm fine," she muttered.

Shigaraki grunted and drummed his fingers on the bar, then let all five rest on the wood. It didn't turn to dust, but Ochako didn't relax. "Stain's brutal, no? You're fourteen-"

"Fifteen." Ochako raised her gaze to meet his. "And a half."

"Oh." The voice was new.

Ochako twisted. She should have noticed, should have noticed- Several unfamiliar faces sat around one of the tables. The one that had to have spoken was barely older than her. Wispy blonde hair, probably a bottled colour. She looked ABC, and her legs kicked back and forth, skimming the floorboards.

"Ah, you've yet to meet the recruits." Shigaraki's voice was teasing. "Since your little stunt at USJ, our numbers have depleted a bit. These are our remaining forces. Dabi, Toga, Spinner, Twice, and Mr. Compress."

The girl smiled, baring sharp teeth - almost fangs. "I like her. Can we keep her?"

Ochako took a step back, and Shigaraki gripped her shoulder. Four fingers. "Stain trained you against the white torture, right?"

He had. For an hour first, then three, then a day, then three days, then a week. But never this long. He had never even suggested longer than a week.

"You didn't even do it right," Ochako muttered.

Shigaraki's grip tightened. "Sounds like Stain's work," he murmured. "Not done right." He switched his lax finger from his index to his thumb. Ochako flinched, but she still existed. She wasn't dead yet. "He was sloppy - got caught by Endeavour. Just after he started working with us, no less."

Ochako's jaw clenched, alongside her fists. "Where is he?"

"Gone." Shigaraki's breath wafted over her ear. She caught a faint whiff of it - it smelled like he hadn't drank water in days. He should really drink something. Preferably bleach. "Along with our plans."

"We were keeping you safe as long as he finished a job for us," Kurogiri commented. Ochako's gaze flickered to him. As though discussing the weather or a recent match, he was cleaning glasses behind the bar with an air of casual boredom. "Naturally, that job was never completed."

"So you're going to kill me?" She had expected it. She had expected it sooner. But it didn't stop the cold that flushed through her body, from her shoulders out. If she could distract Shigaraki - just touch him. Her wrist inched back. The door was right next to her-

Shigaraki's free hand came to rest on her other shoulder. Eight fingers in total. She couldn't get out. Her arm eased back to her side. "We will if you run." His voice got higher, more excited. "Or we could send you back to the room."

"No-" It escaped before Ochako could stop it, but she sealed her mouth closed the second it did. No more. She couldn't. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but-

"I've heard that effects include hallucinations." Shigaraki leaned closer, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Have you had those yet?" His grip was loosening. Maybe- "Maybe your parents? Stain? Someone trying to hurt you?" She took a shaky breath. "Amythest?" Now.

She twisted and slammed her fist into his stomach. Shigaraki stumbled and began to float. He screamed, but Ochako didn't wait to see much more. She sprinted for the door- get out, get out, get out.

A weight slammed into her and something sharp dug into her arm. "Oh, this is fun! I really like her!"

Ochako shoved Toga off her, and she saw a little bit of blood in a needle she didn't know the other girl had been carrying. She scrambled to her feet, but Dabi was faster.

He pushed her against the wall, one hand on her throat. The entire time, his expression didn't change. No excitement, no irritation, no hatred. Nothing.

"I'd let Shigaraki go if I were you," Kurogiri called to Ochako. "You weren't going to get very far anyway. Much longer and you'll be back there."

Ochako flinched. White noise filled her ears. Dabi's hand heated up as she lifted her hands, but she merely pressed her fingertips together. "Release."

Shigaraki dropped to the ground, landing on one knee. "That," he hissed, "was very naughty. Do you know what we do to naughty children?"

Dabi held her still until Shigaraki had reached her and wrapped a full hand around her wrist. Nothing happened, but the threat of death was too much. Too much coupled with the idea of going back- she couldn't go back in. Too much noise, too much colour, too much white-

She tried not to shake. It was worse now that she was out. She'd forgotten that part.

"You're going to be working for us," Shigaraki said, chapped lips curling. His head was down, shoulders heaving. Trying not to kill her. "Or we'll lock you back in there and we won't take you out again."

Ochako's breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed. That was worse. But she couldn't-

"Toga," Kurogiri called, "why don't you show Infinity your quirk?"

Toga grinned, teeth bared again. "Oh, you'll like it! It's so much fun!" She pushed her cheeks up with her index fingers as though posing for a photo. As she did, something changed. Her features shifted, thickening. Lean muscle grew on her arms, and her school uniform grew too small for her body. Thighs thickened, and her hair shortened and darkened.

Bile rose in Ochako's throat as she stared at an exact copy of herself.

"Toga collects blood of anyone she manages to fight," Kurogiri commented. "Sometimes she doesn't even need to fight them. Shigaraki, where was Stain being held again?"

"I didn't say," Shigaraki snapped.

"Shigaraki."

Shigaraki huffed out a heavy breath. "The prison hospital up in the mountains."

"Oh!" Toga's eyes lit up. "Tsukuba Prison? I've been in there. They don't like me very much. I bit a lot of nurses."

Fangs. Blood. Nurses had access in or out at any time, and they were vulnerable outside of work. They could go anywhere in the prison with the right cards. They could get to any prisoner. Ochako's teeth ground together as she watched a grey slime wash over Toga, restoring her original body. Maybe it wasn't even hers. Ochako couldn't be sure.

"What do you want," she mumbled, "me to do?"

Shigaraki finally lifted his head, and his mood shifted. His face was level with hers, shoulders hunched, chapped lips pulled back into a grin that looked like it would split his face apart. His breath smelled like vomit up close- in fact, the only part of him that looked alive were his eyes. "You're going to destroy UA."

She wished that they were as dead as the rest of him.

* * *

For Spring, it wasn't a bad day. It was warm enough that Toshinori was able to wear his t-shirt without feeling a chill nip at his arms, and that they were able to sit outside for lunch. It was also rare that he and Naomasa both had the day off. So why couldn't he relax?

Toshinori's leg jogged under the tiny coffee table. It shook with his leg, the coffee sloshing in the cups. Naomasa reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "Are you okay, Toshi?"

Toshinori's leg slowed to a halt and he managed a smile. "I'm fine." A leaf from one of the plants their overhead neighbour kept floated down to the table and landed beside Naomasa's cup. "Just a little stressed." He had been since the USJ incident.

Naomasa hummed and lifted Toshinori's hand to kiss it. "We'll find her," he said. "I promise."

"I know." Toshinori adjusted his grip so that he could squeeze Naomasa's hand in return. On his ring finger, a diamond glinted in the sunlight. "But I can't help it."

"I know," Naomasa mimicked. He trached his thumb in slow strokes over the back of Toshinori's hand. His hair shone under the bright blue sky. In comparison to the sky, their tiny apartment with the patchy wall paint was trash. In comparison to Naomasa, the sky was little better. "Would a nap help? You don't get enough sleep."

"You're one to talk," Toshinori chuckled. He picked up his mug and took a sip of coffee. Even midday, he needed it.

"But I'm not exhausted right now."

"I'm fine." Toshinori set his mug down again. A drop of coffee splashed over the edge onto the plastic table, and he wiped it off. It wasn't that either of them were short of money.

Toshinori was, naturally, the number one hero, and Naomasa was chief of police. Neither were underpaid jobs, but both put a hefty majority of their net wages into charity work. As much as they could afford to, really, bar a few luxuries here and there.

Toshinori examined his ring for a moment. "Do you think your mother will come?"

Naomasa looked up at him, the movement sharp. He took a sip of his coffee. Probably trying to play it off as natural. "Why do you ask?"

"Well we sent her the invite but got no response." Toshinori's eyes flickered up to his fiancé. "I just think it would be nice if both of our families were there."

Naomasa sighed. "I-" Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a loud crash.

Toshinori's head snapped around as the first scream reached his ears. A cloud of dust was wafting up from behind one of the neighbouring buildings, and rising from it was a chunk of concrete.

He flexed, activating One For All, and turned to Naomasa. "I'll-"

"I know." Naomasa nodded. "Just be safe. I'll do what I can from the station."

Toshinori nodded and jumped from the balcony, up to the roof of the next building, and the next, the next, the next, the next. Finally, he came to the source of the commotion. Down below him, the Nihonbashi bridge and the railway tracks over it were being broken apart. What had happened to the foundations, he didn't know. One side looked burnt, and one looked like it was decaying.

That could have been Shigaraki's work, but he couldn't see him anywhere. Not with the crowds and the smoke.

That didn't matter. Toshinori dove down and grabbed some of the unlucky few who had been crossing the bridge. "Don't worry!" He bellowed. "I am here!" His usual smile was on his face, though it was strained, and he had to run again once they were safe, because so many others weren't. By the time he had managed to carry four lots of citizens to safety, Kamui Woods and Best Jeanist had arrived.

"Mt. Lady is on her way," Best Jeanist said. "What do you want us to do?"

Toshinori looked at the train, teetering on the edge of the tracks. Nothing had started floating since he'd arrived - they must have left. "Create a net under the bridges. I can't touch the train without there being one there. The bridge isn't stable enough."

"Right." Best Jeanist crossed his arms and his uniform began to come apart. Hundreds of threads shot towards the bridges and began to make a steady trampoline-like structure beneath them.

"Kamui, you help me get people to safety," Toshinori continued. "Mt. Lady can help steady the bridge when she gets here."

"Understood." Kamui Woods pushed himself off the pavement and into the air- and he kept going. "Shit-" Kamui Woods reached for the next building over, but his branches couldn't quite reach.

Toshinori's eyes widened and he jumped, grabbing Kamui Woods from the air. When had anyone touched him? How hadn't he seen them?

"What just happened?" Kamui Woods hissed.

"I'm not sure." Toshinori landed on the roof of the nearest building. "Can you secure yourself to anything here?"

Kamui Woods glanced around and then reached for a thick metal pipe connected to the wall. His branches wrapped around it, and Toshinori slowly let him go. He managed to stay on his feet. "I'll stay here and do what I can. You keep getting people to safety."

Toshinori nodded and jumped back down to the ground. Most of the citizens had gotten out of the way. There was just one or two left- no, that one was fine. She scrambled onto the path with the help of what seemed to be her family.

Just those two over there, wearing the coats - one looked like a girl, and the other a man a few years older. Her brother? Toshinori took a step forwards, and then paused. The girl touched one of the crumbling legs of the bridge. "Infinity!"

She flinched and turned, along with the man. His face stirred a vague memory in Toshinori's mind, but not one powerful enough to warrant concern. His outfit did though. Black everything with purple, purple scarred skin stapled along his eyes and neck. That had to be make-up. It had to be.

Uraraka placed her hand on the next leg of the bridge. "I'd get the train if I were you," she called. "I only have two legs left to go."

This wasn't right. She wasn't a true villain - she was a _child_. Don't use her name. If he did, any future she had could be destroyed with one wrong-placed video. "Infinity, back away from the bridge."

Uraraka leaped across the gap and to the next leg. Toshinori glanced at the track. It had been severed in front of the train, but it was still connected to the station from behind. Someone was still there- someone who could destroy it.

The man with her. Toshinori took another step forward, but Uraraka touched the third leg. Rubble closer to the edge began to shift, and several people still on the train screamed.

"Infinity, please," Toshinori called again. "This isn't what Agakuro wants for you."

Uraraka flinched again and glared up at him. It wasn't one of hatred - with Stain's admiration for him, Toshinori doubted that Uraraka was capable of hating him. "This isn't about him," she hissed. "Stay back or I'll-"

"People will die, Infinity." Toshinori took another step. "You're not a murderer. I know you're not."

"You don't know anything about me." Uraraka touched the fourth leg. Toshinori stopped. One wrong move, and hundreds of civilians could die. Where was Mt. Lady?

"I'd back away, All Might," the man next to Uraraka drawled. He didn't look invested in what was happening at all. "This was never meant to concern you."

"Anything concerning the citizens of this country concerns me." Toshinori's fist clenched. So why wasn't he _doing _anything?

Flames burst down towards the bridge. Uraraka grabbed the man beside her and jumped out of the way just in time. Endeavour landed next to Best Jeanist on the other side of the ruined bridges. "Do something," he snarled, glaring at Toshinori. "I'll keep them back."

"No!"

"The importance is the safety of citizens." Endeavour jumped across to Toshinori's side of the bridge. "Not your morals."

Toshinori's teeth ground together. "Don't hurt them," he said, "to whatever degree is possible. She's a child."

"She's a villain."

Endeavour turned back to his opponents, and Toshinori had no choice but to cautiously approach the train. He could see civilians inside crying or yelling. One or two were praying.

If he could just get to the edge without the bridge crumbling under him, he could push the train back, but- The ground shook and Mt. Lady stepped out from behind one of the buildings.

Toshinori waved her over. "Mt. Lady, I need your help over here!"

"On it!" She took two steps to get to the bridge and then knelt down. She placed her hand between the crumbling bridge ends without need for direction. She was as good of a rescue hero as a combat hero.

Toshinori jumped and landed on her hand and began to lift the train onto the tracks. If he could just get it back far enough, everyone could climb out and they could get them to safety.

"Get back here!"

Endeavour's yell drew his attention, along with the blast of flames. Toshinori looked up. Uraraka was floating closer, eyes narrowed. Her hood had been blown back, but at some stage, she had slipped a costume masquerade mask over her face. She pressed her fingertips together. "Release!"

Endeavour's efforts moved from firing at her to blasting a horde of over two dozen large rocks away so they didn't fall on him or any of the citizens watching.

Toshinori lifted the train back onto the tracks - that was his first priority. Best Jeanist could deal with Uraraka- no.

Uraraka landed on top of the train and touched it seconds before Best Jeanist managed to secure her and pull her away. Toshinori grabbed the front of the train and held it, but the back began to lift.

"Infinity," the man called from the other side of the tracks. "It's time to go."

"One minute," she snapped, fighting to escape Best Jeanist.

Toshinori ground his teeth together. Just hold it. But it wasn't enough. One of the back carriages mustn't have been secured well enough - with a slow creak, it disconnected from the rest of the train.

Uraraka's head snapped up as it began to float up. She tried to stretch her hands closer together, but the bonds pinned her arms to her sides. The train rose higher, and Endeavour was only managing to hold off Uraraka's companion.

"Best Jeanist!" Toshinori yelled. "Let her go! Now!"

Best Jeanist's gaze rose to him, but after a second, he released Uraraka. A dark portal appeared under her feet, and her colleague's, but she managed to touch her fingertips together and mutter, "Release," before she disappeared.

Toshinori lunged forward as the back carriage dropped. He managed to catch it and slow its descent enough for Mt. Lady to grab it and set it down gently on the main ground.

Toshinori broke the glass of the doors and pulled them apart. "Everyone, evacuate the area," he called inside.

People began to force their way out, along with everyone from the rest of the train as Best Jeanist, Endeavour, and Mt. Lady began to force the doors open. They each took one carriage to empty. After a few moments, Kamui Woods joined them and helped create a path for people to get from the bridge onto safe ground.

Toshinori turned back to his own carriage. Almost everyone was out, but there were one or two small groups still clustered at the back. Maybe someone was panicking or having an attack. It wasn't uncommon. A high scream echoed through the air. Or maybe trying to calm down the baby.

Toshinori forced a smile and made his way inside. He didn't even need his usual phrase for people to part for him. He heard someone crying and moved closer. A man was on his knees, lying over two women. One elderly and one younger. Another man had a hand on his shoulder, the screaming baby in one arm. Tears were dripping down his cheeks, and the man on the floor was sobbing.

Both women's eyes were open, and neither blinked.

* * *

It was dark in the forest, and she was struggling to stay still and hidden behind the tree. Several students had already wandered past, but it wasn't them that she was meant to focus on.

She dug her toes deep into the soles of her sneakers. The dust and dirt that coated every inch of the forest made some sort of noise under her feet as she moved, but she didn't know what kind. It didn't matter. Everything was better than white noise. Everything was better than white.

Smoke filled the air. The fighting had started a while ago, but she still couldn't do anything. Not until- footsteps.

"I don't need a fucking escort!"

"Kacchan, they're after you. We don't know if they're here for anything else, so if we get you to safety, maybe they'll leave."

Ochako peered out from behind the tree. Bakugou was easy to spot, snapping at everything anyone said from the back of the group. Tokoyami was there as well. Good, she could get both of them.

Two she knew from the USJ attack. The one with green hair that she had helped and who had tried to help her. Had she heard Bakugou call him Deku at some point? He wouldn't be much trouble. His arms were dangling by his sides. He must have broken them, like he had his legs at USJ.

And there was the boy with red and white hair. Endeavour's son. He had managed to freeze the Noumu. She had to be cautious of that quirk. But there was also a tall boy with a mask and two wings of various appendages sprouting from his back. Was that his only quirk? Could he do anything with them?

Ochako frowned and eased back. With Bakugou at the back of the group, he would be relatively easy to grab. Tokoyami was close too.

"_Just touch them and get out. We__'ll handle the rest."_

How they would do that, she wasn't entirely sure. But it didn't matter.

Ochako took a step, and the tall boy turned.

"Someone's here."

Shit. She darted out of her hiding place, straight for Bakugou. She didn't really expect it to work, but it was worth a shot. Sure enough, a blast of ice was thrown her way, and she had to dodge to avoid getting frozen in place.

This was bad. She landed a few metres away. Judging by the fact that he hadn't moved to stop her, Deku was pretty much out of commission. He could use his legs, but his fighting style, from what she remembered, focused on his arms, and even if it had changed, he could no longer use those for balance. The tall boy was bleeding - badly. Bakugou hadn't reacted to his words until everyone else had begun to look around. Had he not heard him? And Tokoyami struggled with his quirk in the dark from what the reports had said.

But Todoroki was perfectly capable of fighting her, even if he didn't use fire. In fact, only using ice probably worked more to his advantage in the forest.

Deku took a step forward. "She's from USJ!"

Todoroki paused. "You're the girl Stain mentioned." Mistake.

Ochako ran forward again, this time more prepared to dodge the ice that shot towards her. "Shut up!" She leaped over the ice, hand outstretched for Bakugou.

He glared at her and reached up. "Die!" The explosion knocked her back, but she twisted and landed on her feet. She didn't pause before moving again, ducking down to touch the broken bits of earth, ice, and rock that the explosion had caused.

She jumped out of the smokescreen, ready for another blast, but instead, Bakugou grabbed her arm and flung her over his shoulder.

Ochako grit her teeth. Her back hit the ground, and the blow knocked the air out of her. She scrambled back to her feet just as ice swallowed the area she had been lying in. She couldn't let him get away.

She moved again, this time ducking and knocking Bakugou's feet out from underneath him. If he didn't want to use his quirk, that was fine. But she was going to use hers.

"Don't touch him!" Deku shot towards her, a strange green electricity crackling in his legs. He swung a leg at her. Ochako had no choice but to jump back. "What do you want Kacchan for?"

"That's none of your business." She ran again. This wasn't working, but they didn't seem to know that Tokoyami was wanted as well. If she could just grab him- Bakugou brought his hands up, ready to fight. Ice was already on its way towards her. Deku seemed to be gathering the energy to attack again. Even the tall boy looked ready to protect Bakugou.

At the last second, Ochako twisted and dove for Tokoyami. Bakugou's eyes widened as the attacks missed their mark, having anticipated her moving for him.

Tokoyami moved too late, falling back. So close- her fingers reached for him. If she could even just get one-

Bakugou bowled into her, sending them both tumbling to the ground. They rolled, and Ochako grabbed his arm. This was her chance, and Bakugou knew it too. He had known it when he had tried to help Tokoyami.

"Kacchan!"

But Ochako didn't activate her quirk, even as they rolled to a halt. Bakugou blasted his way out of her grip and landed a few feet away, breathing hard.

Todoroki aimed ice at her again, and Ochako jumped over it, landing on top of a large, protruding shard. She didn't take her eyes of Bakugou. "Why did you do that?"

Bakugou stared at her. "What?"

Instead of responding, she glanced at the other four. "I only want Bakugou and Tokoyami. The rest of you can leave unscathed if you go now."

Deku glared at her. "Why do you want them?"

"Because we do." She narrowed her eyes. "But we don't really have any use for anyone else. So go."

She dove for Tokoyami again. They would leave. They always leave when their lives were in danger. Deku placed his body between her and Tokoyami, and her fingers hit him instead. He staggered back, and Tokoyami grabbed him to keep him on the ground.

Ochako twisted to get around him, but a thin blast of fire blocked her path. "Didn't you hear me?" She hissed. "Go!"

"We're not letting you take anyone," the tall boy said, blocking her other path.

Ochako slammed her fingers into him and he began to float. One of his appendages grabbed her arm and he swung. His foot hit the small of Ochako's back, knocking her forward. She dragged him down with her and then shoved him off.

Todoroki managed to catch hold of him with a well-placed vine of ice, stapling him to the ground. Ochako went for him next. Two were out of commission, and Tokoyami couldn't risk using his quirk without hurting his friends. If she could remove Todoroki from the equation as well, it should be relatively easy to-

Bakugou knocked her back with a punch, and then another explosion. Ochako twisted and swung her leg at his face. It hit him, and he staggered, but when she went to touch him, he blocked her and swung a side-kick at her.

Ochako caught his leg and pushed up, but before she could even wrap all five fingers around his ankle, he twisted out of her grip. "Why do you keep doing that?" She snapped, taking a step back into a more defensive stance. One hand covered her solar plexus, and another protected her face. Bakugou aimed another punch at her as though he hadn't heard her. "Why do you keep putting yourself in danger?" She snapped, grabbing his wrist. Again, she didn't activate her quirk.

"Because fuck you," he snarled. "These are my idiots. You don't get to fuck with them." He wrenched his wrist out of her grip and punched again. This time, it hit her and Ochako landed on the ground. Bakugou knelt on top of her, one knee digging into her stomach. He placed his hand right next to her head. "Now tell me what the fuck is going on."

Ochako frowned and glanced around at the others. After a moment, she brought up her fingers and touched them together. "Release."

The tall boy dropped to the ground, and Tokoyami slowly released Deku. The small amount of ice, earth, and rock that had been gathering overhead dropped.

"You need to get out of here."

* * *

**The next one will be the last one that takes place during the time period of the anime. I'm reading the manga but I'm not going to stick with what happens in it because I started this before I started the manga, and tbh it's just easier not to stick with it. See you next Saturday!**


	3. Vanguard Action Squad

**Heyo! Look at me, updating on time for once. But anyway, I hope you all had at least a tolerable if not great Valentine's Day! This is the last chapter that takes place during the time period of the anime so from here on out I'm completely winging it. Also turns out I spelled Stain's surname wrong in the last chapter but I'll go back and fix it later. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

**CW: **Fighting, blood, panic attack/flashback, prison

* * *

"You need to get out of here," Ochako said.

"What? Speak the fuck up!"

"You need to go! Now!" Ochako glared at him. "The League of Villains wants you and Tokoyami because of your quirks."

"Bird-head?" Bakugou scowled. "What?"

"They want to make you both villains."

"Why are you suddenly saying this?" Todoroki asked. His eyes were narrow. Ochako didn't blame him for being suspicious. "You're Stain's daughter. Why help us?"

"Because you're... You have the capability to be true heros, and I don't want to see kids getting killed." Ochako shoved Bakugou off her stomach and stood up. "Get both of them out of here. I can use my quirk-"

"I think you've used enough of your quirk." Todoroki's eyes looked almost closed now. "Don't you?"

"Todoroki, let her help." Deku took a step forward. "What do we do?"

Ochako glanced down the path. "Toga's that way, so we're not going there. Come on - I'll get you out." She began walking, not checking to see if they were following her. If they were, they were. If not, it wasn't her problem. Except it kind of was. She glanced back. Okay, they were following her. Good- wait no. "Where did Bakugou and Tokoyami go?"

"Nowhere," Todoroki scoffed. "They're right-" He turned. "-here…" The two had been bringing up the back again, so that they wouldn't be at the forefront of danger if they ran into another villain.

"No." Ochako backtracked out from between the trees to look up and down the path. "No, no, no, where did they go?"

"Looking for these?"

No. Ochako looked up. Mr. Compress stood on air above her, holding two marbles between his fingers. He leaned with one arm out as though there was a wall supporting him. "You're not meant to be here," she said.

"True." Mr. Compress tucked the marbles into his pocket. "But Shigaraki didn't trust you enough to send you alone. Did you really think he would?"

Yes. She should have known better. Her hands balled into fists. "Give them back, Compress. They-"

"Yes, yes. They're 'true heroes'. I heard your little speech." Mr. Compress adjusted his coat. "But I'm afraid I have to go now. And if you want Stain to live beyond tomorrow, you'll be coming with me."

Before she could protest, he began to move. "What's going on?" Deku asked. "Where are they?"

"He's turned them both into marbles." Ochako turned to look at the remaining three. "You need to get them back. I-" She ground her teeth. "I can't-" Think. Couldn't think, couldn't breathe-

"We need to move!" Todoroki pushed past her, and the tall boy picked up Deku to run with him. Ochako pursed her lips, tempted to demand he be left behind with his injuries, but decided against it. It would waste time. She ran after them, bringing up the rear.

Mr. Compress didn't leave the sky, making him harder to track with the trees.

"Damn it, he's fast," Todoroki muttered.

"We need to catch him." Deku squeezed his eyes shut. Ochako wasn't sure if it was because of the pain, or guilt.

Todoroki stumbled over something. He seemed stiff - they all did. With the training camp and his overuse of ice, he was probably going into quirk shock. "Can't you do something?"

Ochako clenched her jaw. She sped up a little. "I need you to put him down," she said to the tall boy. "Quickly."

"But-"

"I know! Just do it!"

The tall boy slowed and carefully set Deku down. He winced but looked up at Ochako.

"Can you still use your legs?" She asked. He nodded. "Everyone get close." She tapped all three of them, and kept hold of them. "Jump, and aim for him - all of you! Now!"

She allowed herself to float as well, at the last second, and the three boys pushed up as fast as they could. Deku was the driving force, and sent them shooting towards Mr. Compress.

He turned too late, and Ochako saw his shoulders stiffen. Now. "Release!" With the momentum, they crashed into Mr. Compress and fell into the clearing below.

It wasn't a good plan, and Ochako knew it as soon as she stood up. Dabi, Twice, and Toga were all there. But Deku didn't care. "Give Tokoyami and Kacchan back!" He yelled, driving his foot into Mr. Compress' back.

"Compress, move." Dabi raised his hand.

Mr. Compress vanished, and Ochako lunged to pull one of them out of the way. Any of them. She caught Todoroki's shirt and yanked him away from the blue fire that shot towards them.

He hit the ground and rolled to his knees. "Shoji! Midoriya!"

"I'd focus less on your friends-" Both Todoroki and Ochako looked up to see Twice leaping for them. "-and more on yourselves. You're on Shigaraki's kill list!" Something glistened in his hand. Todoroki threw his hand up and an ice wall protected them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ochako could see Toga moving in on Dek- no, Midoriya and Shoji, but they could protect themselves. Twice kept jumping over the obstacles Todoroki threw up, and cut through one of the thickest pillars of ice with the steel in his hands.

Todoroki ground his teeth together. "What's with this guy?"

"He's not the main problem." Ochako's eyes flickered towards Mr. Compress as he returned. "He still has Bakugou and Tokoyami."

"Then get them back!"

Todoroki threw up more ice. Mr. Compress muttered something to Dabi and reached into his pocket, then paused.

"Let's go!" Shoji called. "Now!" He held two marbles in one of his other hands. Midoriya twisted and led the way towards the forest.

"No!"

He stopped just in time with Ochako's yell. A Noumu glared out at them from behind a tree. That had been Mr. Compress' idea too.

To his left, darkness began to gather. Kurogiri peered out from his void. "It's been over five minutes since the signal," he said. "Time to go."

Toga and Twice jumped into the portals without hesitation, but Dabi scowled. "We're not leaving without the kids."

"Don't worry." Twice reached up for his mask. Ochako's heart dropped into her stomach. "Kids, here's a little magic rule. If I'm flaunting something shiny-" He pulled his mask away. "-it's because there's something else I don't want you to see." He stuck out his tongue and two marbles slid to the front of his mouth.

"He's still got them?" Todoroki tensed. "But-"

Mr. Compress snapped his fingers, and the marbles in Shoji's hand enlarged into two half-destroyed pieces of ice.

"Forgive me, but I do love a twist ending." He replaced his mask and stepped back towards the portal behind him.

No. Ochako lunged forward. Todoroki moved with her, and it was only a second before Midoriya and Shoji joined them. No, they weren't taking them!

"You can't do this!" Midoriya screamed.

Mr. Compress just bowed. "And with that-" A bright light shot out of the bushes and hit his face, sending him staggering sideways. His mask shattered and he coughed. The two marbles flew out of his mouth.

Ochako didn't wait to see what the light was. Midoriya stumbled and collapsed behind them. Get the marbles. Shoji lunged and caught one. She and Todoroki jumped for the same one, his hand just a little closer. Get it, get it, get it- His hand closed too soon, and Dabi's wrapped around the marble instead.

Ochako crashed into him, and he caught her by her hair. "Isn't that a tragedy," he commented. "Poor little Todoroki Shouto." Todoroki kept moving and crashed into the dirt beside them. "You fucked up."

"That little brat ruined my finale," Mr. Compress spat and snapped his fingers. Shoji collapsed under the sudden weight of Tokoyami, and Dabi wrapped his free hand around Bakugou's neck.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya forced himself up as the portal enveloped them. "No! Come back!"

He was so closed. Ochako reached up. If she could just-

Dabi shoved her down. "Checkmate." He pulled them both backwards.

"Deku." Bakugou glared out of the portal, even as he was pulled back. "Don't come."

Ochako didn't even get to see the bar again. She fell right through another portal, and back into the world of white.

* * *

Katsuki didn't open his eyes when he woke up. Where was he now? He flexed his wrist. Something rough rubbed against it.

He paused, then tried to inch his foot forward. Nothing stopped the movement. He could hear something muffled, and paused. It didn't return. Maybe it was his imagination. He slowly flexed his fingers and took a deep breath. Nothing was tying his chest down, and he was still wearing his binder.

Something whacked his shoulder and his eyes flashed open. Someone was leaning over him, inches from his own. "I said open your damn eyes." The creepy corpse from the USJ. He still had his face covered by a hand.

Katsuki glared at him. "I don't give a fuck what you said." He couldn't let them know about his hearing. He would be at a severe disadvantage if they-

_Relax_, the purple-scar motherfucker signed. _We just want to talk._ He must have been given a script, because he leaned against the table with his eyes shut.

"Ah yes." The corpse pulled back, and Katsuki missed whatever he said next. He didn't want to look at the purple-scar fucker, but with the hand, he couldn't read the corpse's lips either.

He felt something at his ear, and suddenly, something was shoved in. "What the fuck?" He snarled, wrenching his head back.

"Sorry," a voice giggled, "but you need to be able to hear this time."

Last time, they'd forced him to watch part of a press conference Aizawa and the principal had been doing. How long had he been out?

Katsuki shook his head, trying to get rid of the hearing aid, but it stayed in his ear. Another was plugged in and he threw his head back, trying to head-butt whoever was behind him. He misjudged where they were - he wasn't used to being able to hear so much.

The girl giggled again and skipped back into his line of sight. Oh. Vampire fucker. Katsuki glanced up at the television. The press conference was still playing, towards the end. He must have been out for maybe five minutes.

"Now then." The corpse sat up on one of the bar stools. "I believe introductions are in order. I don't suppose you managed to catch any of our names."

"I don't believe I want to know any of your names." Katsuki glared at him. He was at an advantage now. They shouldn't have given him the hearing aids - or tied him up with just rope. And Aizawa hadn't revoked his permission to use his quirk to defend himself.

"I'm Shigaraki Tomura." The corpse tilted his head. "That over there is Kurogiri. We're leading this operation. Then over there is our Vanguard Action Squad. Dabi, Toga Himiko, Twice, Magne, and Spinner. And I believe you know Mr. Compress."

Katsuki bit back a response even worse than the, "Fuck off," he muttered. He hadn't cared the first time when he couldn't hear them, and he didn't care now.

Magne raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he'll fit right in around here."

Katsuki's eyes flickered around. "Where's the girl with the cheeks?"

"Ah, Uraraka?" Kurogiri looked up at him from one of the glasses at the bar. "She's a little bit… tied up at the moment."

"She's unimportant." Shigaraki leaned forward on one knee. "What is important is you, Bakugou."

Katsuki sniffed and looked around. The paint was relatively nice, and the bar was clean. It looked like it would have been a respectable place without the hoard of villains inside. And maybe without the weird painting of George Lucas on the bathroom door.

Shigaraki slammed a fist on the counter. "Listen to me!"

"Why?" Katsuki's eyes flickered over to him. "I already know exactly what you're going to say. I'm wasting my potential at UA, right? I'd get so much stronger with you." A crooked smirk grew over his lips. "You're all weak. I don't want to join you dumbasses."

"You little brat." Shigaraki stood up, knocking his chair back an inch. It teetered on its back legs and then righted itself. "You know nothing of what we could offer you. Training, teachers, equipment-"

"Sounds a lot like everything I'm getting at UA, but subpar." Katsuki tilted his head back so he could sneer at Shigaraki.

"We can also offer you a chance to be yourself." Magne folded her arms. "None of us wanted to be villains as children." Dabi glanced at her, eyes narrow. "We all had something that society didn't like. Our quirks were too dark-" Toga's smile dropped a little. "-or we looked weird-" Spinner didn't look up from the ground. "-or we were shunned because of gender, race, sexuality. The heroes like gods, not humans who make mistakes. And once they realise you're not a god, they despise you for it."

"That's not-"

"Why don't you want to let anyone know that you're going deaf?" Her eyebrow quirked. Katsuki faltered. "How many disabled heroes are there?"

"I think he gets it." Shigaraki glanced at the television again. Katsuki followed his gaze to see Aizawa bow to the reporters.

_"If they think that Bakugou will let them do what they want to him, they're wrong. He has one of the strongest wills in the school, and he will become a hero."_

"Untie him," Shigaraki decided, and he turned off the television. "He's not going to respond well to anything if we treat him like a prisoner."

"I don't give a fuck what you could offer me." He began to heat his hands up as Spinner approached him. "I don't care if you think I'm wasting my talents, or if you think my quirk is more suited to a villain." The ropes snapped, and he stood up. "I'm going to be a hero no matter what."

Shigaraki took a step forward, but Katsuki blasted him and Spinner back, edging closer to the door. The hand on Shigaraki's face hit the floor. "I'm still allowed to use my quirk," Katsuki said. "My permission was never revoked."

Shigaraki didn't move for a moment, staring at the hand on the floor. Slowly, he bent down to pick it up and reset it on his face.

Katsuki glared at Shigaraki. "Another step and I'll blow you through the fucking wall, shit-for-brains."

Shigaraki's hands balled into fists by his side. "Master," he muttered and turned to a monitor in the corner of the room, "I need your help. Please, lend me your force to convince the boy."

It took a few seconds, but soon, a voice echoed out of the machine. "A wise decision, Tomura."

Shigaraki glanced back at Bakugou. "No one's coming to save you," he said. "No one cares enough. Your teachers just want to cover their asses. Your classmates hate you. You told them not to even try to help."

That was bullshit and Bakugou knew it, but something dropped in his stomach. No one cared when he came back from his internship either. "Go fuck a cactus."

"That's it." Shigaraki took a step towards him and Katsuki braced himself to fulfill his promise. "Mr. Compress, knock him out." Mr. Compress took a step forward.

A noise came from the door. A knock. "Pizza delivery!"

Everyone froze. Every single eye in the room was locked on the door, rigid with tension. No one was expecting All Might to burst through the wall, shouting, "I am here!"

Katsuki jumped back out of the way, and within seconds, Kamui Woods had ensnared every single villain in his branches.

Dabi's hand lit up, but an older hero that Katsuki had never seen before lunged into the building and kicked the side of his head. Dabi slumped forward, eyes closed.

"Kurogiri!" Shigaraki called. "Bring in the Noumus!"

Kurogiri paused, and a slight shadow formed in the centre of the room, but it faded. "They're not there," he muttered. "They're gone."

"The conference was a diversion," Mr. Compress hissed. "Clever, clever."

The door slid open. "We aren't so careless as you'd like to believe." Edgeshot strode into the room, shortly followed by several police officers. "And even if you do manage to escape the building, there's an entire police force outside, along with pro-hero Endeavour."

Katsuki took a slow breath. They came for him.

All Might's gaze flickered over to him and softened a touch. "Well done," he said, voice low, as Edgeshot continued to monologue and explain their plan to the villains. "You were very brave."

Katsuki's teeth clenched. "Of course I was," he muttered. "I have to be if I want to be a hero, right?"

All Might's grin grew and he gave Katsuki a thumbs up. "Right." He turned back to Shigaraki. "You underestimated us, Tomura. Not just us heroes, but the capabilities of the police force, and the unwavering spirit of the youth. It's over for you."

Shigaraki was shaking - Katsuki could see it from where he was standing. His hands were pinned to his sides, so he had no chance of reaching any of the branches to touch them. "No," he whispered. Even with the hearing aids, it was hard to hear him. "This is only the beginning. It's you who underestimated us, All Might. We'll destroy everything you've worked to create. Kurogiri-"

Edgeshot disappeared- no. No, he became almost a red thread and shot through Kurogiri. Kurogiri slumped forward, out cold. "He won't be doing your bidding for a little bit," Edgeshot said, returning to his usual size.

"Where's All For One, Tomura?" The older hero asked.

All For One? Katsuki frowned. That sounded like what Deku said his quirk was. No, no it was reversed. The voice on the computer?

Shigaraki was silent for a minute, but tension built up in his body, steadily, growing until his fists were clenched, teeth grinding, eyes squeezed shut. "I hate you!" He screamed. "All Might! I hate you!"

Something black began to form in the air as Shigaraki continued to shriek his hatred and a Noumu emerged. Katsuki took a step back.

Edgeshot's eyes flickered to Kurogiri. "He's still out-" Another appeared. Another. "Where are they coming from?"

"Hey," Kamui Woods called over his shoulder. "We need reinforcements-" His eyes widened and he looked back inside, shaking his head. Reinforcements weren't coming. The sounds of fighting outside were already loud enough to hear.

"Master-" Shigaraki began, but the black liquid began to drip over his body.

"No-" The older hero sprinted for him, but he was gone. Kamui Woods attempted to tighten his hold on the villains he still had, but they all disappeared in a similar state.

Katsuki couldn't breath. Something was caught in his throat. He coughed, and All Might turned to him as he vomited the same type of liquid.

"Bakugou!" He heard the hero yell before it enveloped him. He staggered back and landed on concrete.

His eyes flickered around. A warehouse - a destroyed one. He couldn't hear any fighting; he had to be on the other side of the city. He scrambled to his feet. All but Shigaraki were still on the ground, disoriented or unconscious from the fight.

Just to his left, Uraraka was lying curled up with her eyes squeezed shut.

"Ah, Bakugou Katsuki."

Katsuki looked up in front of him and stumbled. He wasn't quite sure what it was - a thumb? A dick? Something? Something wearing a face mask with no visible eyes, hair, or nose stood in front of him in a full suit.

"I've been waiting to talk to you." From his tone, Katsuki got the impression that he was supposed to be smiling. "I see Tomura failed in his mission, but he did succeed in getting you here, which is something."

Beside Katsuki, Shigaraki bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Master." He sounded near tears.

"It's alright." The thing didn't look away from Katsuki. "Everyone makes mistakes, and you still have your Action Squad. You did your best, Tomura."

Katsuki heard a small grunt and turned to see Uraraka dragging herself to her feet. "Bakugou, get away from him."

"Master, why did you bring her?" Shigaraki hissed.

The thing hummed. "I figured that she would be useful, even as she is now. She'll learn to obey you eventually, Tomura. Her quirk doesn't suit you, but it is powerful." What? "She'll have no choice but to do your bidding soon."

"All For One!" The shriek echoed through the air, and Katsuki dove out of the way.

All Might's fist slammed into what should have been the thing's face, but he managed to block it with both arms. So it was All For One. He should have known.

"All Might." All For One tilted his head. "You don't look so good, old friend. Tell me, are you here to kill me again?" A blast shot from his arms, throwing All Might _through_ several buildings.

"All Might!" Katsuki couldn't help the yell.

"Don't fret," All For One said. "That wasn't quite enough to kill him. He's a persistent one." He held out his hand and something akin to sharp vines dug into Kurogiri's body. A portal appeared behind the villains. "Tomura, you should leave now. My quirk won't get you out of here, so this will have to do. Take Katsuki and Ochako with you."

"But Master-" Shigaraki began.

Mr. Compress bent down and touched Dabi. He turned into a marble similar to the one Katsuki had been trapped in. "He's right, Shigaraki. Let's go."

All Might lunged back into battle, screaming something. The noise was too much. Katsuki tore one hearing aid out to reduce it, but it only threw his balance off. "I'm not going anywhere with you fuckers."

"You seem to think you have a choice in the matter." Mr. Compress was suddenly behind him and reached for him. Katsuki twisted, but before he could even heat his hand, Uraraka had touched Mr. Compress' shoulder. She grabbed him and hurled him through the portal.

"I don't need your help, cheeks," Katsuki spat.

"I'm not here to help you." She glared over his shoulder, right at Shigaraki. "I'm here to fuck them up." She twisted and blocked Toga's knife.

"I still like you." Toga grinned, cheeks red as she stabbed again, again, again. "But you'd look so much nicer if you bled a little more."

Uraraka kicked Toga's knife away but had to jump back to avoid being touched by Magne.

Bakugou blasted Magne back, edging closer to Uraraka. They stood facing opposite directions, Uraraka fending off closer-range quirks while Bakugou blasted anyone in his vicinity.

His eyes flickered to All Might as another loud crash drew his attention. This wasn't right. He was stronger than that- oh.

Katsuki grit his teeth. He couldn't fight at full strength. Not when he and Uraraka were there. He didn't want to hurt them.

"We need to get out of here," Uraraka called. She must have come to the same conclusion. She managed to touch Spinner's blade, though it cut her right hand badly, and she ripped it from his hands.

But how? Even if Uraraka could make them both weightless, there were still five villains attacking them all, one of whom they didn't even know the quirk of. Katsuki blasted Spinner's sword, and the knives flew up into the air.

"Damn it!" Uraraka tried to grab a few. "Why the fuck did you do that?"

"To get rid of it so he couldn't fucking take it back!"

Spinner grabbed one knife from the air and threw it at Katsuki. Katsuki managed to blast himself out of the way.

Despite Katsuki 'fucking up her plan' by saving them both future bleeding, Uraraka had kept hold of the long katana that had been the base of the sword, and she used that to deflect Spinner and Toga's attacks.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Twice jumped towards Katsuki. "Don't forget about me, now!"

Katsuki knocked him back, holding the explosion for a few seconds. His ear rang and he shoved the other hearing aid back into his ear. The sound was hard to get used to again, but it was better than nothing. Uraraka was touching as many knives as she could - trying the same move as she had at the USJ, probably. It wasn't enough. Katsuki's teeth ground together. It wasn't enough.

She managed to move closer to him. "I'm throwing you out of here," she muttered. "When I give the signal, go."

"And you?" Katsuki huffed. "I'm not fucking leaving you to these assholes."

"You're not leaving me to them. You're leaving them to _me_." Uraraka pressed her finger tips together. "Release!" That must have been the signal. As the knives dropped, she reached for Katsuki, but the sudden appearance of a steep pillar of ice stopped her.

Katsuki's eyes widened. "No fucking way."

Three people shot out off the ramp, and a flash of red caught Katsuki's eye. Kirishima reached out his hand. "Come on, Bakugou!" He yelled. "Grab on!"

Now. He had to move now. He grabbed Uraraka's hand and blasted up off the ground. Despite earlier protests, she activated her quirk just in time, as all five of the still-conscious villains lunged for them. Seeing them defeated was obviously more important to her than being the one to defeat them.

They shot up to the three sailing over the warehouse, and Katsuki grabbed Kirishima's hand and grinned. "Damn you, Shitty Hair. What took you so damn long?"

* * *

Ochako wrenched at the leather straps tying her down to the hospital bed again. Everything was too bright, and too quiet. She had tried talking to herself, but she wasn't even entirely sure that she was talking and not thinking.

She wasn't even sure how long she'd been in the room. Minutes, hours, days, weeks- She squeezed her eyes shut and tried again, though it was useless. Shigaraki had even made her wear cuffs that cancelled out her quirk, so she couldn't do _anything_.

She needed to get out, to get out, to get out- The door opened and someone stepped in, tall and skeletal and blond. A new recruit - he had to be. Overhaul was with him, without the mask and gloves and coat.

Ochako closed her eyes again. "Stay back!" She couldn't breathe, air choking her, something wrapping tight around her throat.

"Breathe, young one, breathe!" That voice. She knew it. That made it worse.

Ochako strained against the straps. She had to move before she got hurt-

"It's nine o'clock on a Saturday; the regular crowd shuffles in," the voice sang. "There's an old man sitting next to me making love to his tonic and gin." His voice scratched, and broke, but he kept going. "He said son will you play me a memory, I'm not really sure how it goes-"

"But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes," Ochako finished. She opened her eyes again and something rolled down her cheek, something wet and hot. Sunlight streamed through an open window, and blue curtains fluttered in the light breeze. She lay staring up at a ceiling with various burn marks, and a tiny spider sat in one corner. The walls were a cold cream, and the floor was tile, but it was green, and a horrific painting of a sunflower was pinned to the wall opposite her bed.

She sucked in a long breath and forced herself to let it out slowly, though her body screamed at her to gasp for air. Once she was breathing normally again, she tried to look at the people who had entered. One she recognised - from the end of the fight against All For One. All Might. The other… she didn't know, but he didn't look like Overhaul save for his short black hair.

"Can you breathe now?" All Might asked. He waited until she nodded. "That's good." He pulled a chair closer to her bed and sat down. "I'm sorry if we startled you. That wasn't what we intended. Do you know who we are?"

"You're All Might. And he's-" Ochako faltered. All Might was talking to her. _All Might_ was talking to _her._

_"_This is Tsukauchi Naomasa," All Might responded, "the chief of police." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "And I have officially retired, so you can call me by my name. I'm Yagi Toshinori."

Ochako hesitated. "I-" After a moment, she looked down at her right hand. "How long have I been here?"

"A few hours," Yagi responded. His voice was soft. "I was against restraining you but when they closed the door, you panicked and ended up overusing your quirk. They had to strap you to the bed to prevent you from hurting yourself."

That sounded like bullshit, but Yagi seemed to believe it. And anyway, she couldn't blame them. Not really. "So All For One?"

"He's been arrested and is in one of the top security prisons."

"Like Stain?"

Yagi fell silent.

"He was helping. _We _were helping." Ochako looked up at him. "You were his idol- his god."

"But I'm human." Yagi spread his hands. "As you can see. No human should be put on a pedestal that high."

"We only hurt people who were hurting others," Ochako insisted. They had. Native was a full-blooded Japanese man but had worn a costume mocking Native Americans and often refused to help black or brown people. Firefly had been embezzling funds. Glitz had been abusing his interns for years. They didn't deserve to be called heroes. They didn't deserve to be called human.

"Right." Yagi leaned back a little in his chair. "Akaguro told me as much."

Ochako went to sit up, but her restraints prevented her from doing so. "You talked to Stain? When?" If she had been there for a few hours and all of the villains had escaped, then he was still safe.

"A few weeks ago."

"He needs to be moved. Somewhere safer."

"He is safe."

"No he's not!" Ochako tried to sit up again.

Yagi sighed and reached over. He unbuckled the straps tying her arms down, and then the ones pinning her legs.

Ochako slowly sat up and rubbed her wrists. They felt raw from her pulling against the straps. She swung her legs over the side of the bed so her feet were dangling a centimetre above the floor.

"Why do you say he's not safe?" Tsukauchi asked.

"Because." Ochako looked at him. "Toga went there."

"This is Toga Himiko?" Tsukauchi pulled a notebook out of his pocket and flipped a few pages. "She has a blood-related quirk, right?"

"Right." Ochako lowered her hands. "He's not safe there anymore."

"Can you tell us why?"

"I just did. Toga went there."

"But why does that make it unsafe?"

Ochako pursed her lips. She couldn't tell them. If she did, he was dead, and she was as well. The League didn't take well to traitors, and she had already betrayed them enough.

"We can't help him if you don't help us," Yagi said, voice soft. He reached out, but when Ochako tensed, pulled his hand back again. "I'm officially retired, but I'd still like to live up to the idea of being a true hero."

Ochako squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't. If she did, she'd be sent back to the white room. Kurogiri would get her. She didn't notice that she was shaking until Yagi said her name.

"Uraraka, you're still a child. Stain took you in when you were only five - he pushed you to do what you did, and then the League manipulated you further. You're not at fault for what happened."

Ochako stood up. No. "He didn't make me do anything!" Her face felt hot, and her fists clenched. Tsukauchi took a step forward. "I'm not blaming him for what I did!"

Yagi held up his hand, stopping both her and Tsukauchi. A ring glistened on his finger under the florescent lights. "All I'm saying is that you only did what you were taught to do."

"I did what I wanted to do."

Yagi let out a heavy sigh and dropped his hand. His shoulders slumped. "You're a child," he repeated. "I have no wish to see a child go to jail - especially not one who saved both me and my students on more than one occasion. I want to offer you the chance to go into protective custody and attend UA."

Ochako dropped back onto the bed. "I'm… What?"

Yagi offered her a small smile. "Your quirk is quite extraordinary and could be used to help a lot of people. And even if your actions were wrong, your morals were right."

"I-" Ochako couldn't stop staring at him. This wasn't stealing a sandwich to give to someone who couldn't afford lunch. She had _murdered_ people.

"Even your hesitation proves my point," Yagi continued. "You don't think of yourself as worthy because you have killed."

"It's not that I don't think of myself as worthy." Even though she didn't. Ochako narrowed her eyes. "There are others. People who were brought up like me, or even with me. What makes me different?"

"Nothing," Yagi admitted. He leaned forward. "Nothing except the fact that you know who these children are." Ochako's breath caught in her throat. "I want to help them, Ochako. I want to help them and you. But I can't do that without your cooperation."

Ochako almost said yes. It sounded so good - like the perfect present wrapped in golden paper. An escape from the League and the chance to weed out false heroes from the inside. Ochako lay back down again. "I didn't do anything that wasn't of my own accord."

Silence echoed between them for several minutes; one that Ochako was unwilling to break. "You killed two people that day," Yagi said. "That day at the bridge. A woman and her mother. Their month's mind was held recently."

Ochako closed her eyes. "I want to talk to Chizome."

After a moment, Yagi sighed. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

It wasn't two days before Ochako saw first hand what Yagi was able to do for herself, and she was ushered into the back seat of a car with him, and Tsukauchi in the front seat. The ride out to the prison that Chizome was being kept in was silent bar Ochako asking at the very start about where it was.

He had been moved from the one in the mountains safely. This one was on the other side of the city and took a while to get to, but Ochako didn't mind the wait all that much. It was better than sitting in the hospital room in silence - at least this silence was filled in by the engine and radio, and the occasional beep of a horn. She never fell back into the white room.

At the prison, she went through the security checks without a word, and Tsukauchi waited by the door. Yagi and an officer led her down a series of grey-walled hallways, and paused at room one zero eight.

"Akaguro is inside," Yagi told her. "You can talk to him as much as you want, and I'll wait out here for you. When you're ready, we'll go."

Ochako nodded. Her hands were beginning to shake, and she shoved them into the pockets of the oversized hoodie she had been given. This was ridiculous. Why was she nervous? She had _literally_ no reason to be.

The officer began to unlock the door. "I'll be outside as well," he said. "You will be searched immediately on coming out of the room. Any attempts to give or take something to or from Akaguro will result in prosecution."

Yes, yes, she wasn't fucking stupid. The door creaked open and Ochako took a step inside. At a first glance, Chizome appeared to be sleeping, but when the door closed, he looked up.

He looked so tired. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than Ochako had ever seen them, though there didn't seem to be much he could do aside from sleep.

"Chizome." Ochako ran to his bed, though she stopped herself from hugging him. Several tubes were connected to his arms, and his leg was wrapped in a cast. Bandages peeked out from beneath his hospital gown.

"C'mere." He reached up one arm and pulled Ochako down with it. Ochako rested her forehead against his chest and took a slow breath. "I missed you, kid."

She did her best to return the hug without disrupting any of the tubes. "I missed you too." A heart monitor beeped on the other side of the bed at a steady pace. After a minute, Ochako pulled back. There wasn't any stool or chair, so she sat on the edge of the bed. "How are you doing?"

"Pff. I'm fine." Chizome waved her off. "I've had worse."

"They said you nearly died."

"How many times have you known me to nearly die?"

Ochako sighed but reached back and rubbed his uninjured leg. Then she pinched it. "You're a mess. I can't believe you got caught." She managed a grin. "By children."

"Hey." Chizome nudged his knee up, and it was only then that she saw his ankle was strapped to the bed, much as she had been on her first day in the hospital. "One of those kids is already a true hero."

"Deku." Ochako's gaze flickered up to his face. "Right?"

Chizome nodded. "You've heard of him then."

"He was the reason I got away from the League." Ochako tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. It was a lot cleaner than the general hospital, but the walls were plain. "The kid they wanted - Bakugou - and I were fighting them but All Might couldn't fight at full strength with us there. Deku and some of his friends got us out so he could win." And then they'd taken her to the heroes, who had almost had her arrested.

Chizome nodded slowly. "I watched his fight on TV. He's really done, huh?"

"Yeah." Ochako lowered her head again, and kicked her feet. The bed was lower than her one at the hospital, so she had to sit up a little higher to accomplish this. "But there are other heroes that can fill his shoes."

Chizome hummed and shifted, pushing himself up a bit in the bed. "He told me about the bridge." Ochako closed her eyes. "What did I tell you?"

"Only to kill false heroes." Ochako's eyes squeezed tighter. Her vision turned purple. "But if I didn't-"

"Toga. I know." Chizome scoffed. "Like she could touch me. You should have more faith in me, Ochako."

"I do have faith in you, but you're-" Ochako waved a hand in his direction. Injured. In jail. Incapacitated. She didn't know which to use.

"I'm still me." Chizome chewed his tongue. "But you did well saving All Might. And I hear you saved some people in the forest."

"Deku," she mumbled. "And Endeavour's youngest son, a Shoji, and a Tokoyami." Her shoulders lifted and dropped. "I couldn't help Bakugou though."

"You helped him get out." Chizome nudged her twice. "Come on, look at me." After a moment, Ochako obliged. "Not every true hero has clean hands, you know. You may have done something wrong, but it was for a noble reason."

"I killed people."

Chizome's eyebrows raised.

"Oh fuck you, you know what I mean!" Ochako groaned and buried her face in her hands. "They weren't false heroes. As far as I know, they hadn't squashed a bug in their lives."

"As far as you know."

"I can't just kill people on speculation-" She couldn't kill people outright. Her hands dropped into her lap. "I can't keep this up," she muttered. "All Might was right." Chizome made some sort of noise, but he didn't interrupt. "Even if they don't become heroes for good reasons, they still help people."

"That's bullshit." Chizome shook his head and rested his head on his pillow. It sank into the feathers. "Heroes are meant to be _heroes_. They need to be good people."

"They're also human." Ochako frowned at the floor. "All Might gave me an out," she muttered. "He doesn't think it's fair to charge me because I'm under eighteen. If I talk and say I was forced to do what I did, he'll let me join UA and go into protective custody."

Chizome blinked a few times, then smiled. "Good. Tell them everything."

Ochako's head snapped towards him. "You can't be serious."

"Of course I am." Chizome's eyes narrowed. "You have a chance to get out of this."

"You're the one who brought me into it!"

"I know." Chizome rolled his shoulders. "And I brought your siblings into it too, but do you think I didn't push them out the second I could?" Ochako frowned. "You need to be able to choose what you do yourself. You need the option of not being a vigilante-" He cut himself off and smiled again. "Let's just call it as it is. You need the option of not being a villain like me."

"You're not a villain-"

"Yes I am. I murdered people in cold blood. I'm a serial killer, and I'm in jail for life." Chizome hummed. "No matter what you say, I'm not getting out. Do you get it?"

She did, but she didn't want to. Ochako gripped the sheets, nails digging into the fabric. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Chizome promised, "but landing yourself in jail isn't going to make things easier." He reached out and placed his hand over one of hers. "Talk. Tell them I made you do shit, or at least that the League were manipulating you because they _were_. Tell them you were protecting people if you don't want to blame me - but you should." He fixed her with a hard look. "Do whatever you can to get into that class and _stay out of jail_. You want to help people, Ochako. I know you do; it's part of who you are." He squeezed her hand. "Become a true hero and weed out the false ones - but do it right. Don't make the same mistakes I did, yeah?"

Ochako sniffed and looked away. "God, you're a dumbass," she whispered. She lay on her side, curled into him - to hell with the tubes on his other side. They'd be fine, and unless someone came in to stop her, she was hugging him.

Chizome wrapped his arm around her. "I've got you."

Ochako buried her face in his chest again. "I love you." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm going to miss you."

Chizome rested his chin atop her head with a soft sigh. "I love you too." He didn't waste his breath saying he wasn't going anywhere, or she could visit as much as she wanted. It would only make them both feel worse.

Ochako curled a little closer. "I finally started reading _Red Dirt_," she mumbled.

"Yeah? What do you think?"

"I can see why you like it so much."

When Ochako finally left the room, she didn't speak to Yagi. Or Tsukauchi. Or the officer that checked her for any new or missing items. She didn't say a word until they were almost back at the hospital.

She twisted her hands in her lap and looked up at Yagi. "Okay," she whispered. Yagi jumped and turned to her. "I'll talk."

* * *

**Hope you guys liked this! Please review and I'll see you next Saturday!**


	4. I'll Talk

**Heyo sorry this is late lmao. Had a little tiny crisis but also was just down with family this weekend and I was hanging out with my girlfriend and tbh I wasn't all that bothered to edit this so sorry if there are mistakes oops. Hope you enjoy anyway. Logan and Patton both belong to solabeend on instagram - you should go check them out!**

* * *

**CW: **Panic attack/flashbacks, fighting (controlled, training)

* * *

On Ochako's final day in the hospital, a dark-haired woman was led into her room. Behind her glasses, her eyes were grey and cold, and lined so sharply that it looked like they could cut. Despite her tense demeanour, she greeted Ochako with a pleasant smile. "Good morning, Uraraka. How are you?"

"I'm fine." Ochako put her bowl down and pushed the table on wheels a bit away. It took a moment for her facial recognition to kick in with the woman in civilian clothes. "You're Midnight." For a moment, her face felt hot, and a rush of energy jolted through her body. Midnight was in her room. _Midnight_. But then it faded. She had killed multiple friends of hers. She had killed. Midnight hated her.

"That's right. You can call me Kayama when I'm off duty." Kayama's smile grew a touch. "You'll be under my protection for the week before school starts."

Ochako frowned. "Why only a week?" She pushed herself up in the bed. They'd stopped restraining her when she started to give Tsukauchi information, though there was only so much she could tell him. Sometimes if she didn't stop, she got sick. That lengthened her stay at the hospital a little. "I thought I was being placed into protective custody."

"You are," Kayama assured her, adjusting her glasses. Ochako had never thought that her costume's glasses were for show, but she looked oddly different when the glasses weren't crimson. "UA is opening up student dorms. Provided you get in, you'll be living with the other students in your class and your homeroom teacher."

"Provided I get in?" Ochako frowned. "I thought it was definite that I was."

Kayama glanced at the door, but the nurse had already left. After a second, she walked closer to Ochako. "There's several places open in various classes," she responded, "but we have a lot of people vying for them. You're one of the eight being tested."

Ochako relaxed. So she was guaranteed a place in the school at least. "Which classes?"

"Each of the hero and general course classes," Kayama said. "There are two places in 1A, two in 1B, one in 1C, and three in 1D."

"Why so many?"

"A few drop outs, a few wanting to transfer from one to the other." Kayama shook her head. "But placing doesn't necessarily matter. First place gets to choose where they go, then second chooses from what's left, and so on."

Ochako frowned. But there were only four spots in the hero course, and two in the top class, so realistically, she needed to be in the top two to win. "What type of test is it?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that." Kayama winked and held out a bag. "Are you finished with your breakfast?" Ochako hadn't eaten more than a slice of toast. She hadn't even planned on eating more than the toast. "Because if you are, you could get dressed and we could leave, and I was planning on getting food anyway, so I wouldn't mind getting you some."

Ochako nodded and reached for the bag. "Yeah, I think I'm done." She glanced towards the bathroom. "Do you mind if I shower?" She felt sticky, and didn't want to get into fresh clothes feeling like that.

"Go ahead." Kayama eased into the metal chair provided for visitors. "There's some soap and other shower stuff in there too. I had to guess your size, so we'll get a few bits for you while we're getting food."

"I can just wear what I was caught in," Ochako protested. Kayama winced, and too late she realised that the hero might not want to acknowledge that Ochako was a villain. Or used to be. Still was? Ochako was unclear as to what exactly people saw her as - a manipulated child, a League member, or a Stain protege.

She didn't want to be seen as any of those things. She wanted to be seen as an actual person who could make her own decisions and mistakes, and had. Not as a victim. But it didn't look like that would be happening any time soon.

"It's fine." Kayama waved a hand. Her nails glistened a deep blue. "I love an excuse to go shopping, and the school gave us a budget because you're under our protection."

Ochako pursed her lips. "If you're sure."

"I am." Kayama smiled at her again. "Go shower, sweetheart. I'll wait here for you."

Whether or not the double meaning was intended, it was there. Kayama would be waiting to make sure Ochako didn't try to run now that she had access to clothes that weren't just hospital robes.

Ochako nodded and stepped into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her, more out of habit than anything. Chizome had burst in multiple times because he didn't care if she was in the shower - he wanted to take a fucking piss. She turned on the water as she undressed and opened the bag. It wasn't much - a fresh pair of underwear and a sports bra, a medium t-shirt, sweatpants, and shoes that looked a size too big. She could give them on to someone if her estimates were right.

She pulled out the generic shampoo and soap, and a facecloth, and stepped under the water. She didn't waste time - the hospital water was mild and the pressure was weak. Once she was clean enough to justify wearing new clothes, she turned off the water and stepped out.

The hair on her arms and legs rose with the frigid air - or at least it was frigid in comparison to the shower. She toweled herself dry with rough swipes and scrambled into the clothes. She didn't have new socks, so she just tied the sneakers tight. She then toweled her hair a bit, so it wasn't dripping onto her shoulders, and ran a hand through it. It would be fine. Maybe she could pick up a comb wherever they were going. She shoved her old bra and underwear into the bag and zipped it closed, and then unlocked the door.

Kayama looked up from her phone and grimaced. Ochako squared her shoulders. "Yeah, I didn't guess at all right. Come on - we'll drop by my place so you can leave the bag there and get something to eat, and then we'll pick you up some clothes. You need something that fits you properly." She stood up. "Are you ready to go?"

"I-" Ochako frowned and glanced at the room. "Yeah." She wanted to get out of there. Now. Ten minutes ago. A week ago.

Kayama led her down to the front desk, and Ochako hung a metre or so back as she was signed out. Once that was done, Kayama led her out to an old convertable that smelled like perfume and McDonald's. The drive out to the apartment was relatively silent. It was early - apparently too early for Kayama to function - and Ochako wasn't in the mood for forced chatter.

Kayama pulled into an apartment block underground parking lot after about thirty minutes of navigating city streets and stepped outside. Ochako followed her to the elevator, and she pressed the button for the ninth floor.

"It's not particularly impressive," Kayama said as the doors slid closed. "I was only told a day or two ago that you'd be living with me, so I did what I could."

"I'm sure it's great." Ochako wiped her hands on the sides of her pants. It would be fine. Kayama was probably as nervous as she was. The doors opened and Kayama led her down the hall to apartment eight thirteen.

She struggled for a second with the lock, but soon pushed open the door. Ochako followed her inside. The apartment was large and spacious, the walls painted a deep blue, and the floors a dark wood. One wall was almost entirely taken up by a large window that seemed to double as a door onto a balcony. The sitting room and kitchen were part of the same room with a modest table separating them. The couch was grey and had one part that anyone could lie out on, and the television was wide, hung up on the wall. Various shelves lined either side, full of books. The kitchen was also dark - a similar colour to the wood - with large counters and a fridge with two doors.

Ochako toed off her shoes and wandered over to the kitchen. She pulled open the fridge. It was fully stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat.

"There's some cooking things in the presses as well." Ochako turned to see Kayama watching her with a small smile. "I tend to get in late, so there's also a lot of ready-made meals in the freezer if you don't like to cook."

She did. A lot.

"Come on. Your room is this way."

Ochako closed the fridge door and followed Kayama down to one of the rooms. There were two - one on either side of the main room. Kayama led her to the one closer to the couch. The room beyond was plain. The walls and floor were the same as outside, and the bed was a double. Ochako had never slept in a double bed before.

There was a modest wardrobe, another door that led into a blue-tiled bathroom, and a desk and rolling chair beneath two shelves. There was another small window, framed by lighter blue curtains, beneath an air conditioner.

"I wasn't sure how you'd like to decorate," Kayama admitted. "Especially since you're only going to be here for a week. But whatever you get can be brought to your dorm room and you can do that up however you want. It'll be about the same size as this - maybe a little bigger."

"This is perfect." Ochako shook her head and turned to Kayama. "Thank you." Was it her imagination, or was Kayama blushing? No. The hero didn't like her. No hero liked her.

"It's no problem." Kayama smiled. "I'll go make breakfast. Is there something specific you'd like?"

Ochako hesitated. "Do you have porridge?" She had already seen strawberries in the fridge. It was the only type of breakfast she really liked.

Kayama frowned. Had she done something wrong? "Yes, but I also have other things. Do you want pancakes or anything?"

Ochako shook her head. She hadn't actually eaten pancakes before - or at least not that she could remember. Pancakes were a luxury that a vigilante pair couldn't afford. "No, porridge is perfect."

Kayama nodded. "Alright, I'll go make it. You can throw your clothes into the wash basket there and relax for a few minutes." She pointed to the small basket by the wardrobe. "I don't know if you want to wash your own things or throw them in with mine, but I'll show you how to work the washing machine and dryer when we get back."

Ochako nodded, and waited until Kayama left the room to drop onto the bed. The mattress and bedspread were soft beneath her, and she ran her hand over the duvet. She flopped back, legs still hanging over the edge. It didn't feel real.

Ochako closed her eyes and pressed her palms into them. This room alone was half the size of the whole apartment she had lived in. What was happening? Was Kayama stealing money? Was the pay for heroes just that good? Did the school cover it?

"Ochako?"

Ochako pulled her hands away from her face and looked up. Kayama was standing in the doorway, frowning.

"Breakfast's ready."

"Right." Ochako pushed herself off the bed and followed Kayama out to the kitchen. A bowl of porridge sat on the table by a glass of water. Sugar, syrup, and a bowl of strawberries and blueberries were arranged in the middle, and on the other side, a cup of coffee and a bowl of chicken soup was placed.

Ochako didn't question the meal choice. She sat and began to scoop strawberries into her porridge. "Thank you."

"No problem." Kayama sat across from her and stirred her soup with her spoon. For a few minutes, they ate in silence. Then, Kayama broke it. "Can I ask you something?"

Ochako blinked and nodded. She didn't need to ask - it wasn't like Ochako was a guest.

"How did Stain decide who was a true hero?"

That… was not what she was expecting. Ochako frowned and picked up another strawberry. She ate this one without the porridge. "A true hero had to want to be a hero for unselfish reasons," she explained. "They couldn't want to be a hero for the fame or money or glory or status. It had to be to help people, either through fighting or rescuing or activism." That last one was only after months of her arguing with him. He'd been furious and refused to bring her on missions when she'd first suggested it, but she'd kept at it until he eventually admitted that she was right. "And it had to be only to help others."

"Who can you think of that was considered one? Other than All Might."

Ochako stirred her porridge with the tip of her spoon. Red spiralled out from the strawberries like blood. "All Might," she began, "was a special case." She chewed her lip. "Do you know much about Platonic realism?"

Kayama's eyebrows arched. "I can't say that I do. Do you?"

Ochako nodded. Chizome had majored in philosophy - he used to joke that as an arts major, his only career options were villain, vigilante, or retail. Those jokes had stopped not long before Shigaraki had first appeared. "Okay, so according to Plato, everything in the world is an imperfect, transient copy of the universal Idea that is a perfect, lasting Form. Forms exist outside of space and time. They're the template that everything in existence is based off."

Kayama's eyebrows had fallen into a frown, but she nodded. "Okay."

"So let's say that the Idea we're talking about is heroes," Ochako continued. "Any hero you can see or think of is not the hero according to Plato, because everything in existence is an imperfect copy, so the hero doesn't exist inside space and time."

"You've lost me," Kayama said.

Ochako chewed her lip. "Okay, so imagine a bell curve - everything exists on that curve. Every… every chair ever made is on that curve." Kayama nodded. "But then there's a single dot that doesn't touch the curve. That is the perfect Chair. Chair with a capital C. There is no way for any chair to be made to that exact formula because it's perfect, so nothing can ever top it. Everything else is on the bell curve. There are some chairs that are closer to the Chair - they're on top of the bell curve. But they're still not the Chair and they never will be because they can't be perfect."

"Okay, that's a little easier to picture." Kayama took a sip of coffee. "So every hero is somewhere on that bell curve, and Stain's idea of a true hero was the dot?"

Ochako pursed her lips. "Not really." Here was where it got difficult. "To him, All Might was the Hero with a capital H."

"I thought the perfect thing didn't exist in reality?"

"It doesn't, according to Plato," Ochako said. "But that's just one form of the philosophy. Honestly, it's just one branch of metaphysics. Everyone's philosophy is different, and to- to Stain, the perfect thing did exist in reality, and the Hero was All Might. Everyone else existed on the bell curve - some could get close to him, but as long as he existed, no one could ever reach his standard."

"And now that he's retired?" Kayama's voice had softened. Ochako's nail dug into her thumb. Kayama probably thought she had the same ideology as Chizome.

"Well everything that exists or that can be thought of is subjective." She took a bite of her porridge. It was growing cold. "Even the Hero is subjective, so I don't know for certain because only he knows exactly what his idea of the Hero is. But I think from what he's told me, there's someone who could become his dot again, but for now, his dot doesn't exist in reality anymore. It might change, but the Hero for him is just an idea again because All Might doesn't exist anymore."

Kayama hummed and took a slow sip of her coffee. Ochako used the chance to finish her porridge.

Just as she swallowed the last bite, Kayama decided to talk again. Maybe because she had finished. "So who were the true heroes on top of the bell curve?"

Ochako licked her lips. "It depended. He sometimes listened to me and took my ideas of true heroes into account," she replied. "But the top of the bell curve was the point one percent to him. Eraserhead, Deku, Recovery Girl, and Edgeshot were a few."

"Deku?" Kayama set her coffee cup down on the table. "The first year?"

Ochako hesitated. Was she not meant to say that? "Yeah."

"And…" Kayama ran her finger around the top of the cup. "And what about some of the other top heroes, like Endeavour and Best Jeanist?"

Ochako scowled. "We hated them," she muttered. Her nail dug into her thumb again. "We couldn't touch them because of how high up they were, but-" She cut herself off. She had to stay out of jail.

"Why?"

Ochako shook her head. Chizome had shown her a video once. It was only a copy - he'd handed it in to the authorities because he couldn't touch Best Jeanist. They had destroyed it. She hadn't been able to watch it all and he hadn't made her. They were bad, bad, bad bad bad.

"Okay." Kayama sighed and tilted her head back. "Why were there so few women?"

"There were women," Ochako said. "Those were just some of the ones I thought you'd know best. But Stain saw a lot of women as…" She pursed her lips. "Self-absorbed. Especially the top heroes." She'd argued with him multiple times about it. He'd started to change, slowly, until Shigaraki appeared. Then his list of true heroes was reduced again.

"Ah." Kayama nodded. She waited a minute to speak again, staring at her coffee.

Ochako picked at the strawberries until they were gone, and then started on the blueberries. The last time she'd had that much choice was- she frowned.

"Where was Midnight on the bell curve?"

The question made Ochako's head snap up. That was what she was worried about?

"If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't," Ochako said, shaking her head. "Stain didn't like her. He said that she was a sexualisation of all female heroes and used her position to draw male attention."

Kayama scoffed, wordless, and then paused. "What about you?"

"I argued with him about her." Ochako shrugged. "I thought she was a good activist, and that the act brought in regulating how much skin could be shown when in a hero costume was regressive and sexist. Her quirk demanded she show as much skin as possible because it didn't work through clothes, and even if it didn't, it should be the hero's right to choose what they wear and what they're most comfortable in. Male heroes wear less and aren't affected by the act, so I never saw why female heroes or heroes who weren't either should be regulated." She took a small sip of water. "Besides, Midnight always used her position for activism. She's still fighting the act and multiple other oppressive rules, and she paid for the lawyers of several unjustly arrested victims of abuse. She's also fighting for the rights of people of colour and LGBT people within the country, even though she's a full-blooded Japanese woman and, at least to the public's knowledge, cisgender and straight. I thought that was a very important thing to do - to fight for groups you're not in." Ochako managed a small smile. "For me, Midnight was near the top of the bell curve."

Kayama's cheeks looked dark, and her eyes a little brighter than before. She looked away. "I'm glad to know Midnight was that strong an influence on you." She met Ochako's gaze again. "But you know-"

"I know." Midnight hated her. Kayama hated her. Midnight wouldn't kill abusers or false heroes. Ochako had. She knew.

"I don't think you do." Kayama shook her head. She reached over the table and placed her hand a centimetre from Ochako's. "Midnight always believes that a person can change, and so do I. Just because you did bad things doesn't mean you're a bad person, as long as you put effort into changing." She smiled. "You did what you thought was right. Now that you know it's not right, you need to adapt."

But was it wrong? Ochako nodded. "Right." Was it? False heroes hurt everyone. All Might wasn't a god - he wasn't the Hero. He was human, and he was gone.

"Good." Kayama grinned. Did it matter? Ochako couldn't do anything at that moment anyway. "How about we go and get you some new clothes and things?"

"Okay." Ochako nodded and picked up the dishes, carrying them over to the sink. It didn't matter at that moment, but it wasn't a problem she wanted to leave for future-Ochako to deal with. She had to figure it out.

* * *

The mall that they went to was relatively quiet, and for a moment it worried Ochako until she remembered that it was a Monday afternoon, and that most students would be either back in school or getting ready for it.

The crowds were manageable, and didn't bring the usual feeling that she was being crushed as Kayama led her from shop to shop. She hadn't been kidding about liking shopping. Once she figured out Ochako's size, she gave her a dozen things to try on and model in each shop, but Ochako quickly found that once she had modeled these outfits, Kayama would leave her to pick out what she did and didn't like, either from the given outfits or from the rest of the shop. And she didn't mind the outfits, aside from the price.

One of the dresses Kayama had given her caught her eye, until she saw the price tag. It was worth two weeks of groceries.

She reluctantly took it off and carried it out without walking out to Kayama in it. Kayama frowned. "Was it that bad?"

Ochako shook her head. "No. It was nice." She didn't want to offend her guardian. "But it's too much. I can't-"

"The school has given us money for you to get clothes and furniture," Kayama pointed out, "and you need something dressy for formal occasions."

"But-" Ochako frowned at the price. "This is too much."

Kayama's gaze flickered to the tag and she hummed. "How about this - we'll ask them to hold it for us, and we'll go to one of the cheaper shops to see if we can find something similar," she offered. "If we don't, we'll come back for it."

Ochako shook her head. "It doesn't feel right paying that much for a dress, even if we don't find a similar one."

"What if we give however much we spend to charity?"

"But if I didn't buy the dress, we could give the same amount as what we spend to charity plus the difference."

"Uraraka, sit with me." Kayama sighed and sat down on the couch outside the dressing room. After a moment, Ochako obliged. "You deserve to get some nice things, regardless of cost, at some points in your life. You don't have to feel bad about wanting this dress."

"No." Ochako stood up again. "I don't want anything that expensive." She looked down at the ground. "Can… can we just go to another shop?" She hesitated. "Please?"

Kayama sighed again but stood and left the clothes on the couch. "Okay. Let's go."

Ochako kept her head down as they moved on to another shop - this one bigger with more deals advertised and cheaper prices. This time, Kayama didn't give her a stack of outfits to try on - she just let Ochako pick out clothes for herself.

Ochako tried to even out her breathing. It was fine. Kayama was angry with her for the last shop, but it was fine. She wasn't going back to the white place. She wasn't. Ochako gripped the clothes in her arms tighter. She was fine. She was fine.

"Uraraka?" Kayama's voice made Ochako's throat tighten. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "I'm fine. Do you want me to try on anything?"

"It's up to you."

Fuck. Fuck, shit, motherfucker. Ochako nodded and made her way to the changing rooms. Kayama sat on the wooden chair outside. Ochako locked the door and checked through her clothes. Okay, she just needed to find something similar to the last shop that Kayama had picked out. There was the pink dress.

It had fewer ruffles at the neck, and the skirt didn't poof but it was still similar in style with black buttons and a black sash and pattern on the chest. Ochako quickly changed into it and stepped out to Kayama.

Kayama's eyes ran up and down the dress and she nodded. "That looks good on you. Do you like it?"

"Do you?" Ochako clenched the sides of the skirt.

"It doesn't really matter-"

"You don't." Ochako ducked her head and swallowed. Steady. Her head span. She wasn't going back, she wasn't going back, she was going back.

"Hey." Kayama stood and rested her hand on Ochako's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Ochako blinked, blink, blink, blinkblinkblink, anything to stop the hot tears rolling down her face. She was going back. "Please don't put me in there," she whispered. Kayama stilled. "I'm sorry - we can go back for the dress, just please don't-" She choked on her words and licked her lips. She couldn't go back. They had changed her clothes to all white - tied back her hair, given her gloves, everything was white. It would be even worse this time. She wouldn't be allowed to talk. She couldn't do it. Even with Chizome's training, it was too much, she couldn't-

"It's okay," Kayama said. "We don't need to go back to the apartment."

No, no, no. She knew what she was doing. She wouldn't bring Ochako home - she'd put her somewhere else instead and Shigaraki would find her and put her back- She couldn't stop shaking, couldn't control her breath.

Ochako dropped to her knees, arms wrapping around herself. She couldn't do it again.

Kayama followed her to the floor. "Uraraka? Uraraka, are you okay?"

Tears dripped from her eyelashes. She was useless. She couldn't do anything right. She had been trained to deal with white torture but she was too weak to handle it. "I-I-" She sniffed. Stop crying, it would only make it worse. Maybe if she screamed, someone could help, but who would help a villain? "Please do- Please don't send me back," she choked out.

Kayama's arms wrapped around her, pulling Ochako closer to her. "It's okay," she whispered. She ran her fingers through Ochako's hair. "It's okay, I'm not sending you back to them. You're never going back there - you hear me?"

Ochako swallowed a sob and squeezed her eyes shut. Kayama smelled like a sweet perfume that someone she once knew used to wear. She couldn't remember who. "I'm so- I'm sorry I made- I made you angry-"

"You didn't." Kayama squeezed her gently. "I promise."

"But- but you wanted that dress and- dress and then you didn't-" Ochako tried to breathe, but she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. "-then you didn't want me to- me to try on anything."

Kayama rested her chin on top of Ochako's and rubbed soothing circles into her back. "I'm sorry; I just didn't want you to feel like you had to buy things because I thought they'd suit you." Kayama squeezed her again. "I promise I'm not mad."

Ochako shook her head. Her cheeks felt hot and sticky, but the tears were beginning to slow. She wasn't going back. She wasn't going back. "I'm sorry," she mumbled when she could breathe again. "I shouldn't have made a scene."

"It's okay - you didn't." Kayama smoothed Ochako's hair away from her face. "Would you like a tissue?"

Ochako nodded. She felt shaky, like every limb would fall away from her body if she didn't focus on holding them in place. Kayama pulled a packet of tissues out from the pocket of her jeans and handed Ochako two. Ochako blew her nose and then wiped her eyes and cheeks dry. Her lips felt as dry as her eyes did.

"Can you look at me?" Ochako did so, and Kayama tucked a piece of stray brown hair behind her ear. "Even if I was mad - which I'm not - I would never send you back there, okay?" Ochako sniffed and nodded. "And I never will. You're never going back there as long as I have anything to say about it." Kayama gave her a small smile, but it looked a little sad. "Now, do you want to go home or do you want to keep shopping? I won't force you to do something you don't want to."

Ochako hesitated, licking her lips. "Can we stay for a bit?" She whispered. She didn't want to go back to silence.

"Of course." Kayama's smile grew a bit. "And afterwards, how about we order a pizza and watch a film? We can get cheese crust."

Ochako looked up at her. "Really?" She hadn't had pizza in months. When Kayama nodded, Ochako smiled as well. "Okay. Thank you."

"No problem." Kayama slowly released Ochako. "How about you go try on the rest of your clothes and then we'll get whatever you like."

"Okay."

* * *

Ochako took a slow breath, closing her eyes. In for five, out for seven. Picture the light rising through your feet and up through your body. Relax everywhere the light touches. She opened her eyes again once she had done the exercise three times. She was, at least, not shaking anymore.

The exam was overseen by Present Mic, Cementoss, and the principal Nedzu, to ensure that there was always a fair and impartial decision. The others taking the test weren't that intimidating. There was a small boy with purple balls on top of his head that was requesting to switch into the General course, so that was one less person to worry about. There were also several people without physical quirks. She had beaten most of them in the race, and all of them in the obstacle course. She had also been in the top four to pass through the test where they had to touch various areas of another person's body with rubber balls.

All of that had put her in the top two - only beneath a foreign boy with curly brown hair and an observation and nullification quirk.

As long as she kept her position, she would get into 1A. She would be fine. She stepped out onto the concrete battle area. Just breathe. She had fought before - she had fought properly before. She had fought to kill before. But killing was easier.

The first boy she fought was the one with the purple balls. His quirk was odd, but he was good, she gave him that. He had fought in USJ and the forest. Probably more. She wasn't sure why he was switching from the hero course. But he was easy to defeat.

He had made a whip out of the balls on his head and Ochako had grabbed it, ignoring the way it stuck to her hands, and swung him out of the area. The match had lasted less than a minute.

Her second match was harder. The boy stood relaxed on the other end of the field, and watched her. The second the bell rang, Ochako ran towards him, but collapsed. She couldn't breathe. Something was in her lungs.

The boy walked over to her. He had an odd smile on his face. "It's okay - it's my quirk," he said. "You have flowers growing in your lungs."

Ochako clutched her throat. What the fuck?

"You just need to tell me a secret and it'll all go away. Just a secret." Ochako glared at him. He fidgeted. "I can't make it stop if you don't. Come on. If you pass out, you'll die."

How the fuck had they let him into the course? Ochako's eyes watered. Okay. Okay, she just needed a secret. Something small that she hadn't told many people. Then he was close enough to touch.

"I-I-" She struggled to draw in even one breath. "I'm scared of fish-" The flowers disappeared and air flooded Ochako's lungs. She dropped to her hands and knees.

The boy grabbed her collar and dragged her to the edge of the field, but Ochako touched his leg and pulled away. His eyes widened and he yelled as he began to float up. Ochako shoved him out of the boundaries and pressed her fingers together. "Release!"

He hit the ground with a groan and staggered to his feet again. He looked at Ochako with wide eyes but then grinned. "That was really cool!"

Ochako frowned but nodded. "Thanks." A whistle blew and she exited the ring, rolling her shoulders. After a moment, she looked at him. "Did you mean it? If I didn't tell you a secret I would have died?"

The boy's shoulders hunched and he smiled sadly. "Yeah. I- I'm not very good at controlling it, so if someone doesn't give me a secret, I can't stop it." His smile grew. "But it hasn't happened before, and other people have stopped it if I passed out before I could hear it." That did not instil a lot of confidence. "I'm Patton. What's your name?"

"Uraraka." Ochako nodded. "What class are you going for?"

"I mean-" Patton pursed his lips. "Hopefully one of the Hero classes, but I'm transferring from another school, so any class would be nice."

"Ah." Ochako nodded. "Well, good luck in your next match." She turned away. She was in the semi-finals. She was doing well. She just needed to defeat the next two, and she'd be fine.

Next up was a girl with soft brown hair and grey eyes. She was limping - her last match had been against a boy with an IQ quirk, and though she'd defeated him, he'd gotten a few dangerous hits in.

When the whistle blew, both she and Ochako lunged forwards. Ochako reached for her shoulder, but the girl shifted and her body transformed into that of a light blue wolf. Ochako's hand sailed over her body, and she had to fall to her left to avoid being bitten.

She twisted and lept back to her feet, touching her own head. She floated up above the wolf, just avoiding another bite. Calm. The wolf stared up at her, growling, fur bristling. She had to time this perfectly, or she would lose.

Ochako pressed her fingers together. "Release!" She dropped on top of the wolf and pressed her fingers to her fur, pushing her to the edge. The wolf tried to turn, but lifted from the ground before she could. Once she had floated over the edge, Ochako pressed her fingertips together again. "Release!"

The wolf dropped and after a second, shifted back to the brown-haired girl. A whistle blew and Ochako left the ring. The girl ran to catch up to her. "Hey, hang on." Ochako paused. "That was good, but you should work on your speed more. If you hadn't floated up, I would have won that, and there'll be some situations where you can't float."

Ochako frowned. "I'm… sorry?"

The girl grinned. "Sorry, that probably sounded weird. I'm aiming to be a hero trainer, and I just- yeah. You should work on that." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Áine."

There seemed to be a lot of foreign transfer students. Ochako shook her hand. "Uraraka." She hesitated. "Thanks for to advice."

"No problem. Good luck in your next fight."

Ochako watched as Áine walked to another battle field. Odd. Why was she being so nice? To be a hero trainer, she had to work as a hero for a number of years, so she had to be aiming for one of the Hero classes. Why was she being nice to her competition? Why were any of them being nice?

Ochako shook her head and walked up to her last battle field. Finals. She wiped her palms on the sides of her sweatpants. She would be fine. She would win, and then Kayama would collect her and bring her shopping for school supplies like she had said.

A boy with purple hair and worrying bags under his eyes stood on the other side of the field. He reminded her a little of Dabi- no. No, he wasn't bored. That was an act. He was aiming for what she was. Ochako glanced at the screen that the ranks were displayed on. The long haired boy - Arthur, according to the list - had been bumped down to third place. Beneath him was Roseanne, a boy called Logan, Patton, a boy called Saito, and the boy with the balls on his head - Mineta. Shinsou was second. The boy in front of her. She was on top.

Ochako turned back to Shinsou. She had been expecting to fight Arthur in the final, but Shinsou had beaten him. It didn't matter. She was in first place. She had this won.

A whistle blew and Shinsou moved into a defensive stance. "You're going to lose."

Ochako ran forward. "We'll see." She barely caught the smirk creeping onto his face before her body jerked to a halt.

"Good." His smirk grew. "Now turn around and leave the ring."

She wasn't doing that - did he think she was an idiot? Wait. She tried to stop herself, but her body moved without her permission, walking to the boundaries. No. No, no, no- a mind control quirk. She tried to blink, but she couldn't even control that. Her fingers twitched. If she could even just touch her leg, she could-

A whistle blew, and Ochako staggered. She had crossed the border. She turned to the screen, and Shinsou's name replaced hers in first place, but hers had only fallen to second. There were two open positions in class 1A.

But it didn't matter - she was supposed to win. She clenched her fists. She hadn't been able to float. It hadn't been five minutes, and Áine had proven herself correct. Ochako took a slow breath. She would get better.

The principal Nedzu approached them all and handed them a sheet of paper, where they had to write their preferred classes in order. Ochako stared at the paper, and then scribbled down her choices. After 1A and 1B, they were entirely random. It didn't matter. It didn't.

It took a few minutes for the principal and the teachers to collect the papers and input the data, but once they did, the results of the test appeared on the screen.

**Buckley Arthur - 1B**

**Fukui Áine - 1D**

**Kimura Patton - 1D**

**Mineta Minoru – 1C**

**Saito Elliot - 1B**

**Shinsou Hitoshi - 1A**

**Tanaka Logan – 1D**

**Uraraka Ochako - 1A**

She made it.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Please review and I'll try to update on time this week.**


	5. Foot-To-Face

**Heyo, sorry this is so late lmao. I honestly haven't written a lot of this yet so I didn't want to post more until I wrote more but that hasn't happened yet so oh well. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**CW: **Unsafe binding, talking about murder, fighting, violent sparring, dissociation, PTSD, deafness

* * *

Ochako took a slow breath as she waited outside the classroom. Shinsou was standing next to her, but he looked more excited than nervous. He was an in-school transfer, so it was easier for him. He knew people in the class. He wasn't a villain. Ochako toyed with the strap on her bag. She had gone straight from Kayama's to school. Her things were being moved to the dorm during class, so she'd be able to unpack once she was done. Probably to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.

Though not going in with the others was drawing unnecessary attention.

"Hey," Shinsou muttered, drawing her attention. "What school are you transferring from again?"

Ochako pursed her lips. "THS," she replied. It was small enough that not many people knew of the students who went there. Kayama had developed the story for her. "You're moving from 1C, right?"

Shinsou nodded. "How didn't you get in during the entrance exam?" He tilted his head. "Your quirk would work well on the robots."

Ochako shook her head and leaned back against the wall. "I choked on the written. Nerves, I guess." Don't ask anything else. Don't ask anything else.

Shinsou hummed and slipped his hands into his pockets. The questions didn't seem to be out of genuine interest. There was something more.

Before he could press further, the classroom door opened and a man with heavy bags under his eyes and long black hair peered out. "Okay, you can come in." Eraserhead- no, Aizawa.

Ochako took another slow breath and followed Shinsou inside. She was fine. She had earned this. Had she though? There were other people there who weren't villains. One of them deserved her place more. But she needed it.

"Okay, give your names and then take your seats," Aizawa sighed, sitting down behind his desk. Ochako glanced over the class. She recognised a few - those who had seen her before were staring. Shoji, Tokoyami, the guy with the laser bellybutton, Midoriya, Todoroki, Kirishima, the girl with the ponytail, and the boy with glasses and blue hair. Bakugou didn't look at her.

Shinsou looked like he was suppressing a grin. Why, Ochako didn't know. "I'm Shinsou Hitoshi, but you guys know that, so…" His cheeks darkened as someone in the back of the class snickered. "Yeah." His hidden grin faded a little.

Ochako almost frowned, but managed to force a smile. "I'm Uraraka Ochako. Nice to meet you." She glanced at Aizawa, and when he said nothing, she slid into a chair beside the window at the front of the class. Bakugou was to her right - he refused to even glance at her.

Shinsou quickly took the remaining one towards the back of the room.

Aizawa's eyes flickered up and he stood again. "Alright, you've been here half a year now. Congratulations to those who passed the hero license exam, and to those who didn't, do better next time." Bakugou's fist clenched. "Uraraka, Shinsou, you'll both have the chance to do it in second year." He looked over his sheets. "Because of the events during the last boot camp, we never got the chance to finish it. We'll be attending a different one this term, and you'll be split into groups for it. 1A and 1B will be working together, but you will be split into three groups and each group will be attending a different camp." He narrowed his eyes. "No social media will be allowed. There will be a phone there that you can use to ring relatives, but that is all. Phones are not allowed. Laptops are not allowed. Gaming devices are, but I don't know when you'll have the chance to use them. It will be as tough as the one you started."

Ochako licked her lips. Chizome's boot camps had been rigorous. She would be fine. They would probably do some water boarding, maybe an escape room, maybe some shocking. Definitely a lot of physical work.

The girl with dark hair pulled into a high ponytail raised her hand. "When will we be going?"

"Two weeks from now," Aizawa replied. "That will give you enough time to ease back into schoolwork without letting you fall behind physically." He looked around the class. "Anything else?" No one spoke. "Good." He picked up an orange sleeping bag. "Present Mic will be along soon for English. Try not to burn down the school until then." His gaze landed on Ochako. "Uraraka, come outside for a moment."

Ochako hesitated for only a second. She pushed back her chair and followed Aizawa out of the classroom.

He closed the door behind them and turned to face her. "I understand that you're moving into the 1A dorms today?" Ochako nodded. "You'll be on a floor with a few other students, and I'll be in the building too." Right. He didn't want her to hurt them. She looked down. "If you come across any trouble, make sure to let me know, but the other students will do their best to help you."

Ochako's head snapped up. "I'm… what?"

Aizawa adjusted the sleeping bag. "I don't like Stain. I never did agree with his methods." He tilted his head. "But I don't think you fully agreed with him either. And everyone deserves a chance, I guess." He scowled. "Make no mistake - try to hurt any one of my students and I will not hesitate to stop you. But something tells me you won't." He turned away. "Go back to class and don't antagonise anyone."

Ochako stared after him for a moment. What had just happened? She shook her head. Okay. Okay, go to Aizawa if she had trouble, don't hurt people, don't talk to people. That was doable.

She pushed open the door and made her way back to her desk. English first. She didn't know much - or any beyond general greetings. She pulled a notebook and pencil case out of her bag. Maybe it wouldn't be bad-

It was. It was that bad. Everyone else in the class had been taking English since they were children. Ochako hadn't even attended school in that time - Chizome had home schooled her, and she had learned some subjects herself. Neither had considered English all that important. Ochako just kept her head down and tried to avoid being called on.

Maths went the same way. She knew basic arithmetic, but not whatever she was being taught. At the break, she stayed at her desk and tried to make sense of the notes she had taken. No one spoke to her. Even those who hadn't seen her when the League attacked probably knew who she was by now. She didn't blame the others for telling them.

History was next, and it was finally something she could answer. She didn't raise her hand for anything, but answered all of the questions in her head and scribbled down extra bits of information she recalled from books here and there. It was a period she was interested in too - the Vietnam war. Even if it didn't go as in depth as she would have liked, she felt more grounded than in English and Maths. Then came lunch.

Honestly, Ochako would have preferred to go through English and Maths again than have to deal with lunch. She closed her notebook as the bell rang. They weren't allowed to stay in the classroom over lunch, so maybe she could go outside once she got some food? She could read a little, or listen to music.

"Hi!"

Ochako started and turned. Midoriya was standing beside her desk with a large smile. "Um, hi."

"Uraraka, right?" He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm Midoriya Izuku. It's nice to meet you properly!"

"You too." Ochako nodded. What was he doing? Was he trying to throw her off or something? Behind him stood Shinsou and the boy with the classes. Iida Tenya. Todoroki was there too, and the girl with the frog quirk. Asui Tsuyu.

"So, we were wondering if you'd like to have lunch with us." Midoriya hesitated. "Unless you have other stuff to do."

"I-" Ochako frowned and glanced at her bag. "No, that sounds nice. Thank you." She reached in and grabbed her lunchbox, and then zipped her bag closed. "Where do you normally eat?"

"The cafeteria," Asui replied. "It has some really good food."

Ochako nodded. She didn't want to ask Kayama for more money, and she didn't want to spend the money the school gave her on unnecessary things. "Okay." She stood up and pushed her chair back into her desk. "Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem!" Midoriya's smile grew again and they began walking. "So where are you from?"

"Originally I'm from Ho Chi Minh," Ochako replied, "but my parents moved to Odaiba when I was two for business, and then I was taken in by my uncle in Tokyo." Kayama was the one who had suggested that she call Chizome her uncle. She never saw him as a father, and it was a believable lie. "What about you guys?"

"I was born in Tokyo." Midoriya grinned, and all four of his friends chimed in with varying noises of agreement. "Is this your first time on a hero course?"

"Yeah, I was in a general course at THS." Ochako tucked hair behind her ear. She didn't want to talk much about it, just in case Shinsou didn't know. It was wishful thinking, but still. "Uh, we have gym next, right? What's that like?"

"I'd actually like to know that too," Shinsou admitted. "It was probably different on the general course."

"It depends on who's teaching," Asui replied as they walked through a door. Beyond it was a staircase that he led them down. Ochako used the rail for balance. "Aizawa-sensei usually makes us spar without quirks to build up stamina. All Might has us use our quirks in various exercises, like the hero class. Midnight will have us do obstacle courses, and Present Mic makes us do games and stuff with our quirks."

"I hope it's All Might," Todoroki mumbled. "I prefer actually testing my quirk out in various situations."

"But they're all good!" Iida cut in. "They teach us to adapt to various things!" He spoke as though the first letter of every word was a capital letter. Ochako wrinkled her nose. She knew him from something other than when they had rescued her and Bakugou.

"I know that." Todoroki frowned. "I just like All Might's style more."

"I like the sound of Aizawa's." Shinsou pushed open the door at the bottom of the stairs and let everyone out in front of him. "I mean we have to improve our bodies before we can improve our quirks."

"I prefer Present Mic's." Asui tapped her lip with her finger. "I think it's good that he pushes us to use our quirks in odd ways we mightn't think of otherwise."

"Exactly." Midoriya grinned. "They're all good in their own way."

"It was just a preference." Todoroki sighed. They walked through the cafeteria doors. "Uraraka, will you grab a table since you already have your lunch?"

"Sure." Ochako looked over the cafeteria. "The one by the plants is free - I'll try to get that one."

"Great." Midoriya grinned. "Thanks, Uraraka."

"No problem." Ochako watched for a second as the five wandered over to the queue for food. Why were they doing this? She frowned and made her way over to the free table. It was a booth, so there was plenty of room for the six of them.

She slid down to the end of the table and began to unpack her lunch. What was the point? What were they getting out of it? Before she could come up with an answer, they returned with trays of food. All of them were carrying plain rice with some kind of meat and a juice, except Asui. She had some sort of noodle dish with tofu.

Midoriya sat between Ochako and Todoroki, and Asui sat opposite her with Shinsou between her and Iida.

"So," Shinsou spoke after a second. "You're Stain's kid."

"Shinsou!" Midoriya cut in, but Ochako held up her hand.

"It's fine." She set down her chopsticks. "No. Stain took me in when I was a kid."

Iida's jaw clenched, and he glared down at his rice. Shinsou hummed. "You worked with the League?"

"Not out of choice." Ochako leaned back. "They threatened to kill him if I didn't."

"You shouldn't have done it."

Ochako's gaze flickered to Iida. It clicked. "You're Engenium's brother."

Iida raised his head. "Yes." His words were sharper now. "Stain nearly killed him."

Ochako picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of her food. Maybe he deserved to die. She bit back the reply. Chizome had killed several people she disagreed with him on. "That's not my problem. I wasn't with him that day." She looked up at him. "Or at all since the USJ attack." She took another bite. "But he didn't kill good people."

"Forgive me." Iida stood up, grabbing his tray. "But I'm not doing this." Without another word, he walked away.

"Iida!" Midoriya called after him, but he didn't turn around.

Ochako frowned down at her food. "You can go after him," she muttered. "You don't have to pretend to want to be friends with me."

Shinsou scoffed. "None of us are pretending. Least of all Midoriya." Ochako looked up again. "1A are a bunch of dorks who will latch onto you and never let go. Trust me."

"But you shouldn't have said that." Midoriya was frowning, still watching Iida walk away. "His brother might never even be able to walk again."

"Chizome didn't attack good people," Ochako insisted. "He's alive, so it mightn't have been very bad, but he didn't do that." Even on the people they disagreed about killing, the people were never good. Mediocre, maybe, but not good.

"Still." Asui shook her head. "It hasn't been long since it happened. He's still grieving." Her gaze wandered over to Ochako. "It doesn't always matter if a person was good or not. If we're close to them, it still hurts."

Ochako sighed and took another bite of her food, then stood up. She left the table, walking around the booth, and made her way after Iida. He wasn't hard to find - she caught up to him just as he disappeared into the men's bathroom.

She followed him in. Like a fucking sign was going to stop her. He had already gone into a stall, but it wasn't like he was hiding well. It was the only locked stall in the bathroom.

Ochako leaned up against the sinks, arms folded. "I'm not leaving until you come out." Her words were met with silence, and she pulled out her phone. "You haven't eaten yet, and the bell's going to ring in twenty minutes. If you're going to do gym, you need energy."

The door was flung open and Ochako looked up. Iida glared down at her. "This is the men's bathroom. You're not meant to be in here."

"Yeah, well I've done a lot worse so I'm not that worried." Ochako crossed her legs, leaning her weight on her left.

Iida huffed and looked away from her. "What do you want?" He grumbled. "To taunt me about my brother?"

"No." Ochako's eyes narrowed. "Chizome didn't kill good people."

"My brother was the best man I knew!" Iida snapped. His eyes shone, and his shoulders seemed to shake. "He was brave, selfless, kind- He was a _hero_!"

"Chizome killed a lot of false heroes." Ochako swayed a little, rocking from side to side. "Many were very good at acting like true ones."

"My brother _was _a true hero!"

Ochako sighed and leaned her head back. "If he didn't kill him, he didn't think he was a false hero," she muttered. "He wasn't as bad as he could have been-"

"He wasn't bad at all!"

"I'm trying to be nice!" Ochako snapped.

"Well you're failing," Iida decided.

Ochako's shoulders sagged. "Yeah, I know." She pursed her lips. "I'm sorry your brother was injured," she mumbled. "Even if he was a bad person, it didn't make it right." Iida frowned. "And I know me saying this probably doesn't do anything, but…" She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Iida was quiet for a moment. "It doesn't do much," he admitted. "Especially knowing that you agreed with Stain."

"I didn't know your brother." Ochako shrugged. "And he and I didn't always agree on who was false and who wasn't. All I meant by that was-" She cut herself off. She was tired. Very tired. "I just wanted to defend him. He's taken care of me since I was five - he taught me everything I know. He's like an older brother to me." She closed her eyes. Squeezed them. "But that doesn't excuse him killing people, or attacking your brother." She opened her eyes again. "I still don't like you all that much. From what Chizome told me, you're self-absorbed and weak. But he says that about a lot of people, and he only knows a snapshot of your life."

Iida folded his arms and frowned. "From what I know about you, you're a murderer." He sighed. "But All Might trusts you, or you wouldn't be here, and you're trying to be better. I wouldn't be much of a hero if I didn't try to help."

Ochako hummed. Yes he would. He'd be a hero if he had her arrested. "I know neither of us like each other, but Midoriya got upset when you left, and he didn't seem to want to leave me so-" She shrugged. "Can we start over and try to at least tolerate each other until he stops the whole pretending to be friends thing?"

He hesitated and then held out his hand. "I'm Iida Tenya, class rep of 1A. It's nice to meet you."

Ochako blinked a few times. Then she reached out and took his hand. "You too."

Iida nodded and released her hand. "Let's go. They'll be worried about us, and you shouldn't be in here." He pulled open the door. "And just so you know, I wouldn't count on Midoriya giving up on you. He's very… friendly."

* * *

Katsuki tugged at his shirt, and let it settle again over his binder. It wasn't a good thing to exercise like this, and he knew that, but he didn't want anyone to know. He yawned, and his ears popped. Sound became a little clearer.

He could make up for it at the weekend - he didn't have anywhere to go, so he could just leave it off and stay in his room all day. Days. It was five days away, but it was better than nothing.

As he walked into the gym, Kirishima slapped his shoulder. "Aizawa's already split us up dude."

Katsuki sighed. Of course they had Aizawa. He just wanted to fucking blast out some tension. Just a bit. "What are we doing now?"

"Just sparring with no quirks again." Kirishima threw his arm around Katsuki's neck. "You were paired up with Uraraka. Make sure not to kill her, yeah?"

Katsuki scowled. "Whatever." She could hold her own, so he wasn't fucking holding back. He made his way up to the benches lining the gym and began stretching. He could see his name nearby on the board next to Uraraka's. Okay, good he hadn't misheard Kirishima. "Who are you up with?"

"Todoroki." Kirishima grinned.

Katsuki scowled and looked over at him. "Why are you so excited to fight Half-and-Half?"

"Because he's not as good at short range." Kirishima gave him a thumbs up. "I might be able to beat him."

Katsuki hummed and looked down at his shoes. "Yeah, maybe." He saw Kirishima perk up, shoulders not slouching anymore, and tried to ignore the heat rushing to his cheeks. He kept going until everyone was in the gym and warmed up.

Aizawa blew a whistle once he deemed everyone ready. His hands were in his pockets, and his sleeping bag was draped over one shoulder. "Alright, you know your pairs, so just… partner up and start sparring in one of the fields. I'll step in if it gets too much." He dropped onto one of the benches and covered his legs with his sleeping bag. "No quirks."

Of course he had to remind them. What did he think they were? Children? Well, yeah, okay. Katsuki could see why he did remind them. He didn't bother finding Uraraka. He just walked up to the nearest arena and stepped into it. He kept stretching his arms out as he waited.

Uraraka found him a minute or two later.

"You're late," Katsuki grumbled, lowering his arms.

"You could have found me if you wanted me to be on time." Uraraka rolled her shoulders. "Are you ready now?"

"I was ready five minutes ago, cheeks." He frowned at her. "Are _you_?"

Uraraka stepped forward in lieu of a verbal answer, and Katsuki mimicked her. They stood for a moment on the balls of their feet, Uraraka in a more defensive stance. Despite this, she moved first. She slid across the floor, aiming two testing punches.

Katsuki dodged back, and then swung three punches at her. Right, left, right. When she focused on his left hand, he brought up his leg to knee her in the side. Uraraka took it in her stride and swung up her leg. Katsuki blocked the attack by his ear, and he punched her and tried to knee her again. Uraraka blocked it and aimed a kick at his side.

Katsuki used the chance to punch Uraraka's side and kick her left knee, but it was relatively weak. Uraraka took a step back, and Katsuki kicked the back of her right knee twice. She stumbled, but before Katsuki could attack again, she jumped and twisted. Her leg shot out and she landed a hard kick in Katsuki's stomach, knocking him back.

Katsuki staggered and grimaced. Fuck. What the fuck was that? Was she using her full strength? A grin spread over his face. Good. He jabbed two punches that she blocked, and then ducked under three punches and grabbed the back of her neck. He pulled her down, but Uraraka pulled back and swung her leg at him. He didn't need to hold back on her.

Katsuki caught her ankle, swung his leg beneath hers, and shoved her down to the floor.

Uraraka scrambled to her feet. Katsuki took a step towards her, and she kicked him back. She tried to kick him a few times - his knee, his face, his side. Katsuki blocked them all, and then tried to punch her. Uraraka blocked it with her knee and then kicked his side without dropping her foot. She kicked his ankle, making him stumble, and then kicked his side and left leg, hopping from one foot to the other to do so. She tried to kick again. Katsuki stepped back, and without hesitation, she twisted to kick his head. Katsuki ducked under her leg.

Katsuki dove towards her, but she side-stepped his kick and did the same move. He managed to block the first kick, but in the second, Uraraka's heel caught his chin.

His head span and his jaw burned. He spat and shook his head to get rid of the dizinees. Fuck. His ears were ringing again. He couldn't hear his own footsteps. He didn't hear Uraraka's footsteps again, and he barely blocked her next kick.

Katsuki glared at her and aimed a punch at her stomach. Uraraka kicked at him twice, but Katsuki blocked both attempts with his ankles. She tried to kick his head again, but Katsuki blocked it. He tried to punch her, but she dropped to the ground and kicked his legs out from under him.

He hit the ground hard and struggled to his feet. He couldn't get in enough breath. No. No, he wasn't losing. He wasn't. He jumped up and punched her twice in quick succession. Once she tried to kick back, he blocked and kicked her side at the same time. He used his full force behind the kick and knocked her down.

When she scrambled up, they traded a few punches, and Ochako kicked the inside of his knee. He used the force to aid him twisting and slammed his heel into her arm. He tried to do it again, but she caught his foot and threw him down. She stepped back as he stood up.

He ground his teeth together. Was she mocking him? Why the fuck hadn't she attacked while he was down? She had the chance. Katsuki lunged forward and got two hard hits in to her chest before she swung a brutal kick to his ribs. He couldn't breathe. _Fuck._

He got a heavy punch in to her solar plexus that made her drop to one knee, but he staggered back himself and had to take the same amount of time just to be able to _fucking _breathe. He still hadn't caught his breath when Uraraka had recovered, and he tried to punch her just to keep himself in the fight. She should have ducked. She could have ducked. If she had, he could have kicked her and got a bit more time. But she jumped _over_ his fist. He pulled up his arm and her ankle hit his wrist and pushed his fist into his jaw.

Even with him blocking it, the force behind the kick sent him to the ground.

_"Just stop struggling. It will all be easier then."_

"Die!" He held out his hand and an explosion knocked Uraraka back. It wasn't as big as it should have been. Aizawa was already descending on them, eyes red, but Uraraka hit the floor and didn't get up again.

The rage was still rushing through Katsuki's veins, and he fought against Aizawa as he was picked up and pulled out of the gym. Fought against arms, fought to hear, fought to breathe. He couldn't hear a thing.

He must have dissociated, and badly at that, because he only pulled back to the present when he was sitting down in the staff room. Aizawa and Present Mic were both their, watching him.

Aizawa opened his mouth and said something. Katsuki scowled. "What?" Aizawa's mouth made the same general movements, but Katsuki couldn't make them out and he still couldn't hear.

He threw his head back and glared up at the ceiling. Fuck. He'd been doing so well. He'd lasted half a year without some shit like that happening.

"I can't fucking hear you," he spat, looking back at them, "okay?"

Present Mic waved to draw his attention, and then began to sign. _Is this better?_ Katsuki nodded. _So you know sign language. This isn__'t a recent thing._

"No, it's not fucking recent." Katsuki's nails were blunt - they had to be for his quirk - but he dug them into his palms. "It's been happening since I was fucking twelve." It was ridiculous that no one other than Deku and the League had noticed it before, but it wasn't the school's fault. Not really.

_Can you hear at all?_ Present Mic asked.

"Not right now." Katsuki scowled. "I can usually hear a little bit. I can hear you most of the time."

_How long has this been going on?_ Aizawa signed. That was surprising. Since when did Aizawa know how to sign? Since when did _either_ of them know how to sign?

"Since I was nine." Katsuki's scowl deepened. "My quirk's fucking my ears up."

Aizawa nodded slowly and turned, talking to Present Mic for a minute or two. When Present Mic responded, Katsuki could hear a slight buzz, but nothing more.

Finally, Aizawa turned back to him. _We__'re going to discuss this more tonight or tomorrow. Whenever your hearing is back. You're going to go back to your dorm and write an apology letter to Uraraka. I'll come and see you later tonight._

Katsuki huffed and stood up. "Whatever." Neither of them followed to check that he was doing what he was told. Of course he would. He was staying in UA if it broke him.

Once he got back to the dorm, he dropped into the chair by his desk and pulled out a piece of paper.

**Uraraka,**

**Sorry you were too fucking weak to handle a small explosion.**

He crumpled up the letter and threw it at the bin, without checking to see if it landed. _Fuck_. He buried his face in his hands. He just wanted to go outside and blast things, but he wasn't even at home anymore, so he couldn't do that.

He wasn't even sure how long it was before he heard a knock at his door. He was only halfway through a decent draft of the letter, and the sun was setting.

He turned in his chair to face the door. "What is it?"

The door opened and Aizawa stepped inside. He closed the door behind him instantly. "How's your hearing now?" He asked.

Katsuki scowled. Not good. Aizawa sounded like he was whispering, like in class. "I can hear what you're saying," he said. Barely.

Aizawa moved a little closer and handed him a small box. Katsuki frowned and opened it. Inside were a pair of clear hearing aids. Katsuki's scowl returned, but Aizawa pushed the box closer to him. "Put them on."

Katsuki looked up at him, a protest on his lips, but it died. He sighed and picked them up, sliding them into his ears. He adjusted the volume a little and then looked at Aizawa again. "Fine. Done."

"Good." Aizawa stood up straight again. His eyes flickered to the mountain of paper balls in Katsuki's bin, but didn't say anything about it. "Did your old school know about your hearing?"

"No."

"How did you handle the work? Could you hear the teacher?"

"Deku knew, so he gave me his notes." Katsuki glared at the floor. "He's been doing it all year."

"Did anyone other than your parents and Midoriya?"

Katsuki's nails dug into his knees. "The League knew. They gave me hearing aids when I was with them. So Uraraka knows."

"And that's why you got so mad today?" Aizawa asked.

"She fucking used it against me." The nails dug deeper, until it stung even through the fabric of his gym uniform. He hadn't bothered to take it off, though he'd ripped off his binder after the third attempt of the letter.

"Alright. That doesn't excuse using your quirk like that. Even if she was going a little too rough. If it was anyone other than you, I would have stepped in, but I figured you were giving as good as you were getting." Aizawa slipped his hands into his pockets. "Maybe if I had stepped in, this wouldn't have happened." His eyes slipped closed again and he yawned. "You're going to give her that apology letter, and you're going to wear those hearing aids to class every day."

"But-"

"You're also going to go to a therapist outside of the school. It will help with your transition progress as well, but even after a diagnosis, you'll keep going to them."

"I'm not fucking broken!"

"You're _also_ going to work with Present Mic after classes so that you can find a fighting style that minimilises further damage to your ears while also preparing you for a day where you lose hearing altogether."

Katsuki squeezed his eyes shut. He knew it was going to happen, but it didn't hurt any less. "I can't really be a hero if that happens, can I?"

"Hm?"

"I can't become a hero if I'm deaf."

Aizawa was quiet for a moment. "Present Mic managed."

Katsuki's eyes flashed open. What?

"Don't tell me you're giving up this easily after you've worked so hard to get here." Aizawa narrowed his eyes. "Because if you are, I severely misjudged you, Bakugou." Katsuki hesitated. Aizawa turned away. "I'll let you finish your letter. And stop wearing your binder in gym."

* * *

Ochako's eyes flashed open. It was too quiet. Too bright, too quiet, too white. She pushed herself up. White curtains surrounded her, and a white blanket covered her. Why?

Why did they send her back? Had she not been good enough? Was it because of the fight? Had she been too weak?

Her eyes burned. Why why why? She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. They hadn't even bothered to take her out of her UA gym uniform before handing her over. Shigaraki was going to murder her.

The curtains were pulled back. Ochako squeezed her eyes shut. If she was going to die, she didn't want the last thing she saw to be white.

"Oh good, you're awake." That didn't sound like Shigaraki. "Are you alright, dear? How are you feeling?"

Ochako cracked open her eyes. An old woman with what seemed to be a needle in her hair was smiling at her. Recovery Girl. She opened her eyes fully and looked around. The duvet was a light blue. "I'm fine." She shook her head. It hurt a little, but not as much as should be expected, given how many times she had been hit.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I was sparring with Bakugou and…" She frowned. She remembered a loud bang. "And he… he used his quirk?"

"Right." Recovery Girl nodded. "He's been sent back to his dorm, and you won't be paired up again if you don't want to be-"

"No." Ochako softened her voice a little. She had to be calm to stay. "I mean, no it's fine. I don't mind sparring with him more." Recovery Girl didn't look happy about that. "Can I leave now?"

"Of course." She stepped to the side. "Your shoes are by the door. Just take it easy tonight and make sure to get lots of sleep."

"I will. Thank you." Ochako stood up and made her way over to the door. She slipped her sneakers on and left the hospital wing without another word.

She was too weak. She had to be better. Much better. She couldn't afford to be sent back. The walk back to the dorms was done in silence. It was dark out, and when she went inside, the common rooms were empty. She hummed as she entered the elevator and pressed the button for her floor - purely as something to fill the silence. It would be nice to see her room, she supposed.

The doors opened, but someone was standing at them. Bakugou. He was glaring down at the floor. "Here." He shoved a letter at Ochako. "Take it."

Ochako barely caught it and he turned away. "Wait!" He paused. Ochako stepped out of the elevator. "Do you hate me?" She asked. "Is that why you did it?"

Bakugou's glare deepened. "No," he said. "You're not important enough for me to hate."

She couldn't lie to herself - it hurt a little. But she understood, and nodded. "Okay. Then you need to work on your form if you don't want to get knocked down so much." She pushed past him. "It's shit." He stared after her as she walked around the corner to her room.

She pushed through the door at the end of the corridor that divided the boys' corridor from the girls', and paused. Sitting against the wall beside her door was Asui. "Um… hi."

Asui looked up at her and nodded. "Hello. I wanted to check how you were doing." She pushed herself up, hands on the wall behind her for leverage. "You took a very close blast from Bakugou."

"Ah." Ochako rubbed the back of her neck and managed a smile. "Yeah, no I'm fine now. Recovery Girl patched me up."

"That wasn't what I meant." Asui watched her for a moment. She didn't blink, and Ochako found it hard to hold her gaze.

Ochako cleared her throat. "I should head inside." Asui nodded and Ochako hesitated. "Do you… maybe want to come in?" Even if she found it hard to keep eye contact with her, Asui had a… a calming presence. One Ochako needed. "There's still a few minutes before we need to go to bed."

"Sure." The corners of Asui's lips shifted a little.

Ochako used her keycard to unlock her door and push it open. Even though she knew what her room would look like, her mind had been plaguing her with fantasy images during class. It was still nice to walk into.

The walls had been painted the same dark blue as Kayama's apartment, and her bed from there had been brought over. So had the desk and wardrobe, and matching shelves had been put up. Along with that was a small dark rug over the wooden floors, a beanbag, and a bedside table. All of her more personal items were still packed, even if they weren't much.

Asui didn't comment on the style of her room. Ochako sat on the edge of the bed. "You can sit down if you want, Asui." She expected Asui to take the beanbag or the office chair, but she sat down on the bed too instead.

"I actually prefer Tsu."

Ochako blinked. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't-"

"It's alright." Tsu shrugged. "You probably thought the others only called me that because they know me." Ochako hesitated, and then nodded. "They took a while to get used to it, so I don't mind if you do too."

"No." Ochako shook her head. "Tsu suits you more."

Tsu's cheeks darkened a little- or maybe not. If they did, the change was so slight that it could have easily been a trick of the imagination.

Ochako looked down and traced a star into her duvet. "What did you mean earlier?" She asked. "When you said you didn't mean you came to check on me for injuries?"

She saw Tsu tilt her head. "Bakugou can be a very heavy person to deal with at times," she replied. "He's very emotional, and can be draining. Especially in a fight." She seemed to hesitate, but she took her time with speaking, so Ochako wasn't quite sure if it _was _hesitation or just a natural pause. "And I worried that it might trigger something."

Ochako's toes curled in her shoes. "I-" She forced a small smile. "No, I'm fine, Tsu. But thank you."

Tsu watched her for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright." She looked around the room. "You don't have a lot of decorations."

The beanbag was already more decoration than she was used to, but she had wanted a few things, and Kayama had convinced her to get more. She had to blend in. Be a normal teenager. "Yeah, I haven't had the chance to unpack yet." She waved a hand at her case. "I'll do it tomorrow."

Tsu hummed. "Too busy doing villainous things?" Ochako flinched. "That was meant to be a joke. Sorry, I'm not very good at them."

"No, no it's okay. It was my fault - I never know when people are joking."

"I guess we make a good pair then." Tsu's lips quirked up again.

Ochako's face burned. "I, uh… Yeah." She returned the smile. "Thanks for… helping at lunch earlier. I wouldn't have gone after him without you."

"I think you would have." Tsu tapped her lip with her finger. It was an endearing habit. "You don't seem to have a lot of faith in your abilities to be a good person, but you're here."

Ochako blinked. Her shoulders dropped a little. Yes. Out of self-preservation and want for vengeance mostly. "I guess so."

Tsu hummed. "You don't unlearn everything you know in a few days. You need to give yourself time."

Maybe. Maybe that was it. Or maybe she was just rotten. What seven-year-old kills people? Not a good one.

Tsu reached over and touched Ochako's shoulder. "I mean it. You wouldn't have tried to save All Might if you weren't at least a little good."

Ochako choked on her own words. A bell rang, and Tsu withdrew her hand. "That's curfew. I should go back upstairs." She stood and walked towards the door. "Sleep well."

"Tsu, wait."

Tsu paused, hand already on the door handle. She glanced back at Ochako. "Yes?"

Ochako gave her a tiny, minuscule, itsy-bitsy little smile. "Thank you."

Tsu returned it and nodded, then left Ochako to her own solitude. Before she could even begin to spiral, Ochako pulled out her new phone and found her playlist of pirated music. She set it to the second lowest possible volume and plugged her phone in.

She still didn't know what song it was that came on, but it was enough to keep her from falling victim to the silence again as she got ready and climbed into bed.

* * *

**Hope you liked the chapter. Please review.**


	6. I'm Not The Only One

**Heyo. So yeah, this is very late. Sorry, lmao. I genuinely have had seven chapters written since January, but I didn't want to post them all until I was writing the story again, but I still haven't started chapter eight lmao. That's gonna be fun. Hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

**CW: **Deafness, PTSD, panic attack, mentions of unsafe binding, mentions of murder, implied sexual assault/abuse

* * *

The results of the first test were up. Because of the amount of people struggling last semester, Aizawa had started giving them weekly tests in class to judge their progress. He seemed to be hoping that by forcing them to study more, they'd be more prepared for their end of year tests. Izuku wasn't entirely certain that it would work, but there was a chance.

The results had been pinned to the notice board in the common room before they got back Monday evening. Because it had only been a week, there wasn't a lot on the test to study. Izuku scanned the list, double checking his placing. Third in the class. He'd gotten an A in everything except art. That was fair - he was never the most creative person. He checked the rest of the placings.

Todoroki was second, and Kacchan was fourth. Iida was fifth, Tsu seventh, and Shinsou was eighth. He frowned and his gaze kept going down. Uraraka was near the bottom of the list. Sixteenth. He pursed his lips. That wouldn't be good.

Izuku glanced around, head twisting. Where was she? There. At the back of the group. Her eyes were fixed on the list, her cheeks red. She turned and walked towards the elevator without saying a word to anyone.

The others all seemed caught up with their own scores, and didn't notice him slipping away to follow her. He caught up to her in the elevator. "Hey."

Uraraka grunted as the doors slid closed. "Hi." Her hands were stuffed into her pockets, shoulders tense. "Congratulations. You did well in the tests."

"Thanks." Izuku rubbed the back of his neck. What was he meant to say? "You did too." Uraraka scoffed. "No, really. You did well considering you joined halfway through the year."

"Considering," Uraraka muttered.

"Exactly." Izuku tried to smile, but the look in her eyes made it wither. "You're very hard on yourself."

Uraraka looked away from him. "I have to be."

Izuku fiddled with his fingers. "Hey, I-" He hesitated. "I was just wondering… if you want… I could maybe help you out with schoolwork?" Uraraka's head snapped back to him. "I mean, I get it if you don't want to and all but maths is one of my better subjects and I wouldn't mind going over stuff with you and-"

"You're rambling."

"Right, sorry." Izuku ducked his head. "I just-"

"You really wouldn't mind?"

Izuku looked up again. Uraraka's shoulders were up at her ears, knees locked. "Of course not," he replied. "It'll help me study a bit too."

Uraraka pursed her lips, but her shoulders began to drop again. "Thanks."

"No problem." He smiled as the doors slid open. His floor. "Do you want to come over for a bit tonight? We can go over some stuff and see where you're at."

Uraraka glanced at the elevator buttons, then nodded. "Sure. Thanks." She stepped out.

Izuku followed her. He had meant in a few more minutes so he could maybe hide a few All Might figurines, but it wouldn't really help. He couldn't hide everything in his room. "Uh, I'm in here." He pushed open his door and slipped off his shoes as he stepped inside. "You can leave yours on if you want."

"It's fine." Uraraka stepped in after him and left her shoes beside his. She glanced over the room. A small grin crept onto her face. "You're a total fanboy, huh?"

"No!" Heat rushed to Izuku's face. "I mean, maybe, but-"

"Hey, it's fine." Uraraka nodded. "I can see why you idolise him."

It didn't make it any better. Izuku groaned and covered his face. Maybe he should get rid of one or two things- no. No, he wasn't going to do that. "Can we just… start?"

"Yeah, okay." Uraraka took her bag off her shoulder and pulled out her maths book. "So what do we do?"

Izuku sighed and lowered his hands. He dropped onto his bed and left the chair for Uraraka to sit on. "You could tell me what you understand so far."

Uraraka hesitated, then sat as well. "None of it."

"Really?"

Her cheeks burned and she looked away. "I mean, I get some of the things like… like I get x plus seven is ten, but… but other stuff."

"Okay." Oh wow. Oh _wow_. "Okay, so, uh…" Izuku looked at his book. "How much maths do you know?"

"Basic addition, multiplication, and subtraction, patterns, and some of whatever the business-y stuff is called. VAT and shit." Uraraka huffed. "I can never remember the name."

"That's fine." Izuku nodded. He flicked to the patterns chapter in their book. "Can you do some of these?" He passed the book to her, pointing to one of the middle exercises.

Uraraka scanned the page. Her lips twitched, as though she was whispering to herself, and her eyebrows dropped deeper and deeper on her face. After a minute or two, she looked up again. "Maybe half of them."

Izuku took the book back and thumbed his way to the tax section of the book. Uraraka looked at it and almost instantly looked up again. "Nope. No."

"Okay, that's fine, don't worry." Izuku looked at the book. "Um… so you never went to school, right?"

"Stain homeschooled me."

"No, I know, but you never went to a _school_ school?"

"Not since I was five."

"Okay." Izuku ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. What… Okay." He paused, taking a deep breath. Calm. Think out the sentence before saying anything. "It might work better if I get some of my older books to show you things. That way you're not starting out in the middle of something you don't know - you can work your way through it from the start."

Uraraka was frowning again. Izuku wasn't sure if it was out of distaste or consideration. "That might work." She pursed her lips. "How far back would I need to go?"

"I'm not sure." Izuku offered her a smile. "But my mom kept all my old schoolbooks, so it won't be an issue to find out."

Uraraka sighed and leaned back in the chair. "You don't need to do this. I won't be helping you at all if we go back."

"It doesn't matter." Izuku shrugged. "I want to help any way I can." His smile grew a bit. "Besides, it probably will help me to go back over things."

"Oh." Uraraka didn't look at him, instead choosing to examine the ceiling. It was still freshly painted white.

Izuku closed his book and put it on the desk. "Do you want to go and see a film? There's some good ones on in the cinema."

Uraraka's gaze flickered down. "I, uh…" She frowned. "I haven't really been much. I thought it was just a birthday thing."

Wait, really? Izuku hesitated. He hadn't been able to go very often because his mom was paying for rent, food for two, clothes, and school, but it was more than a birthday thing. "Not really. Some people go every week."

"Oh." Her fingers gripped the sides of the chair.

Had that been the wrong thing to say? Izuku didn't know enough about what, "-She'd gone through, but she has to have some form of PTSD. Was that a trigger? But how was I supposed to know if it was? Should I have known? Should I just not have suggested we leave? Maybe she can't leave? Maybe she was just embarrassed? Or-"

"You're muttering."

Izuku jumped. Hopefully she hadn't heard what he was saying. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Uraraka closed her eyes. After a moment of silence, she nodded. "Fuck it, sure. What film?"

Izuku pulled up the times for the nearest cinema on his phone. "_Colette _is meant to be really good, and it's on in half an hour. We'll still have time to get homework done if we go and see that."

Uraraka pursed her lips. "Yeah. That sounds good." She stood up. "Do you want to bring anyone else?"

Todoroki would like it. And maybe Shinsou and Tsu. But Izuku shook his head. "Nah."

"Okay." Uraraka walked over to the door to grab her shoes. "I'm just going to change out of my uniform, then we can go. Meet you downstairs in a few minutes?"

"Sure, I'll see you down there." Izuku watched as she left, then began grabbing a t-shirt and jeans from his wardrobe. Not an All Might one - even if she liked All Might too, it was embarrassing. He just couldn't bring himself to throw any of them away.

Instead, he picked up a plain white one that just read 'flannel shirt'. He'd gotten it as a joke, but it worked. It was one of his few non-hero related ones. He exchanged his uniform for that and a pair of loose blue jeans, pulled on his shoes, and checked to make sure his phone was charged enough that it wouldn't die before he made his way downstairs.

He wasn't exactly sure how, but Uraraka was already waiting for him. She hadn't dressed up either, which was good. Izuku only had one dressy outfit and it was a suit. She had just thrown on sweatpants and a plain pink t-shirt.

Izuku grinned as they left the building. "I find it kind of funny that you like pink so much," he admitted. "I thought you'd prefer black or blue or something like that."

"Why? Cause I'm a villain?" Uraraka snorted.

Wait. Wait, had that been a bad thing to say. "I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine." Uraraka shook her head. They walked through the side gate that no one really waited at, and took the back road towards the cinema. "I don't know, I just always liked pink. I used to want my costume to be pink, but it was too eye-catching."

"You could do a pink one now," Izuku suggested. "Have you submitted your design and stuff yet?"

Uraraka shook her head again. "Not yet - I haven't finished my design. But pink stands out too much."

Izuku shrugged. "All Might's costume stands out a lot. Unless you're planning on being a camouflaged hero, it wouldn't be a problem." A small smile crossed his face. "It might work. For most people, pink's a really safe and happy colour, so it might calm any people you rescue."

"Maybe." Uraraka looked up at the sky. It was bright still, and only a few clouds drifted overhead. "I don't really want to be a rescue hero though. I don't think." She snorted. "I didn't even think I could be a hero until two weeks ago."

He had been in the same boat until that year. Izuku nudged her. "Well you can be."

"Yeah." Uraraka's voice had gotten quieter. "Maybe."

Izuku let out a slow breath. How could he comfort her? He wasn't even sure she wanted to be comforted. Besides, none of them had reacted all that well when they'd been told she would be joining the class. Wouldn't it be hypocritical to say anything?

"Come on," he said instead. "We're in here." He led her through a hole in the wall and down towards the cinema.

It was still too soon after school, so not many people were there. It didn't take them long to get their tickets, and they agreed on sharing a packet of nachos. The theatre that _Colette _was showing in was even emptier than Izuku had imagined. Aside from them, there was maybe five other people there.

"Are you okay with commentary in films," Izuku asked as they sat down, "or do you prefer no talking?"

Uraraka snorted. "Commentary. It's no fun if you can't talk through films."

Izuku grinned. "_Thank_ you. Iida hates it when I do it." He had gotten into the habit with Kacchan, when they'd started to realise he had a hearing problem. Kacchan would never admit that he hadn't heard something; he hadn't even wanted Izuku there in the first place. So Izuku just started commenting on certain things to make sure he knew what was happening, and kept going even after Kacchan reluctantly started to use subtitles.

Uraraka shook her head. She opened her mouth, but closed it again.

Izuku's chest hurt. She was doing her best. The screen flickered and they both turned towards it. Neither of them spoke through the ads, but once the film started, their commentary began.

Usually, it was just them bitching about Colette's husband, though they both sat upright when they saw her flirting with the red-haired American.

"Please," Izuku mumbled. "Please, please, please-" A whispered cheer escaped him when the two kissed.

Uraraka chuckled, though they both started bitching again when they realised the husband was also sleeping with the American. When Missy came on, Izuku just fell silent. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, he was _so _taking Kacchan to see this film.

Neither of them really spoke again for a while. Whoever was there other than them also appeared to like commentary, because when the husband made some shitty comment, in the silence that followed, a high, "Bitch," echoed through the theatre. Everyone laughed, and Izuku missed Colette's response, but it didn't matter.

Uraraka only spoke up again when the husband started begging Colette to keep writing his books.

_"I need you to write it-_"

"Bitch, write it yourself," Uraraka muttered.

"He hasn't written anything before," Izuku scoffed. "He probably doesn't even know how to start."

"Touché." Uraraka inclined her head towards him.

They fell silent again until the film reached its end and they left the theatre.

"Okay, so?" Izuku was grinning.

"Definitely worth it." Uraraka was too. "I didn't think it would be that gay."

"It's _great_." Izuku laughed. "We knew the gay film without even looking it up."

"We can just fucking smell it." Uraraka's smile grew and she looked up at the sky. It was only starting to grow dark. Reds and pinks dashed through the sky. "Thanks for that."

Izuku shook his head. "It's no problem," he assured her. "We're friends, right? That's what friends do."

He thought he saw Uraraka twitch as her eyes wandered over to him, but he couldn't be certain. "Yeah," she finally decided. "I guess so."

* * *

Katsuki yawned as he pushed open the door of the gym. With the extra classes and study, he was sleeping less than he was used to, and now he had to deal with extra training on top of that. Not that he would have turned it down, even if it wasn't compulsory, but it was still irritating.

Present Mic was standing in the middle of the gym in his usual hero costume, holding a small bag by two fingers. Katsuki had worn his costume too, on instruction, though he had been more drawn to the comfort of his gym uniform.

"Hey, Bakugou!" Present Mic twisted to face him and grinned. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." Katsuki scowled and rolled his shoulders. "Can we start now?" He wanted to get moving. He had to.

Present Mic examined him for a moment. "Sure." He pulled something out of his pocket. "Take out your hearing aids."

Katsuki's scowl only deepened. "Why? I thought I was meant to be learning how to fight _with_ them?"

"Nope." Present Mic held up a small black device - two - that looked like a cross between a hearing aid, airpods, and earplugs. "You're going to learn how to fight with these instead."

Katsuki hesitated, then reached out and took the device from Present Mic's hand. "What is it?"

"One of the support students made it."

"That doesn't tell me what it is." Katsuki turned the device over in his hand. Two buttons sat at the bottom of each earpiece.

"They're going to cancel out all noise and reduce the damage to your ears," Present Mic responded.

Katsuki's head snapped up. "But I can't fight if I can't hear."

Present Mic shook his head. "Kid, I don't think I've been able to hear since I turned seven."

"But this is different-" He wouldn't be able to tell where anyone was, or what was happening. He couldn't completely cut out one of his senses. Not before its time.

"If you don't plug your ears as much as possible when you use your quirk, your hearing will be completely gone by the time you hit second year." Present Mic folded his arms and tilted his head back. "If you do, you might last a few more years with bits of it."

Katsuki's fingers curled around the earpieces and he clenched them. "How will I know where anyone is?"

"I'm getting to that." Present Mic bent down and opened his bag. "Don't talk while I can't see you. But I use the box on my throat and my shoes to pick up vibrations when I'm fighting so I can still know where things are." He pulled out a pair of boots and a headpiece almost identical to the ones Katsuki was wearing. "These were fitted by Hatsume - she's the one who made those earpieces. They're going to do the same thing." He held them out to Katsuki. "It's going to take a lot of practice, but if you can get the hang of this, it's going to make you far more powerful."

Katsuki stared at them. He could be stronger. He could actually be stronger, even without his hearing. He could still fight. He snatched the boots and headgear from Present Mic's hands before he could convince himself not to. "Fine."

He began to unlace his boots, silent as he did so. The new ones were a touch higher, with a stronger support in the heel. They also had holes at the bottom that would let him use them with his quirk, but it was too much like Deku. He didn't need that.

The earpieces attached to the headgear, and he traded his hearing aids for them once he had finished tying his new boots. All sound was gone. He tried to hear even though he knew it was pointless. Nothing. _Nothing._

He tried to breathe. It was fine. It wasn't permanent. He could handle this - he could handle it. He gripped the side of his head. Just calm the fuck down. He yelled - he knew he did. He could feel the vibrations in his throat. But he couldn't hear it. None of it.

Present Mic's hand was on his shoulder, and Katsuki knocked it away. Too much - he couldn't- He ground his teeth together and then ripped the headpiece off. He yelled again and this time, he heard it. His voice died down, and he just stood there, panting.

Present Mic didn't try to touch him again. Not until Katsuki spoke. "I can't do it," he forced out. "I can't." He shook his head. He shook his entire body. "It's too much."

"You'll have to try," Present Mic said. Katsuki could barely hear him - not because of his own hearing that time, but because his heart pounded too loudly. "Okay, let's take a break from that for a little bit. We can try again after a warm-up."

Katsuki's fist clenched, and he was tempted - _so tempted _\- to blast the fucking devil's work to pieces right there. Instead, he put it back in Present Mic's bag. "What should we do?"

They ended up stretching for a while and running laps, and Present Mic taught Katsuki a few ways he kept people in his line of vision where others could rely on their hearing. Katsuki had scribbled those down on a spare sheet - he'd need to look over them later and practice them. Then Present Mic brought out the headpiece again.

"Just for a bit," he promised Katsuki. He must have seen the look on Katsuki's face - the one of dread. "But you need to get used to it. You can't use your quirk without plugging your ears anymore, even in class."

Katsuki took a slow breath. He had to use it. He had to be able for this. He snatched the device from Present Mic's hand and shoved it on. Again, he did it before he could double think it. He couldn't risk it.

The sheer lack of sound was overwhelming again, but Present Mic waved to catch his attention, and pointed to his boots. _There__'s an on switch on the heel_, he signed. _Switch it on and you__'ll get vibrations. It's easier than no sound at all._

Katsuki nodded and knelt down to find the switch. His fingers shook as he did so - where was the fucking button? After a minute, he found it on the inside of his right foot. He flicked it on and stood up again.

Present Mic stamped his foot.

It wasn't like hearing. Not really. It wasn't quite like feeling either. It was like… it was like if someone's phone vibrated under a cushion you were sitting on, and you couldn't quite hear it or feel it, but some odd mix of the two. Either way, it was a million times better than pure silence.

_We__'re not going to try talking with it yet,_ Present Mic signed, _because we don__'t know if that could have bad effects. We're just going to try some basic exercises. Now I need you to close your eyes and try to respond as if you were hearing me move. You're just going to try to touch me._

That only made it worse. Katsuki's breath caught again. He hated closing his eyes, even when he was going to sleep.

_It will be okay. You can open them again at any time._

That made it a little easier. Katsuki took a slow breath and squeezed his eyes closed. His shoulders tensed, and he had to work not to hold his breath. Calm. Focus.

The vibrations came in slow bursts. He was walking. Katsuki reached out in the direction Present Mic had been in, and his hand clenched around fabric. Present Mic tapped his wrist twice, and Katsuki let go. The vibrations started again, growing a little fainter. He was moving around, trying to make it more difficult.

Katsuki did his best to focus on where the vibrations were coming from when they grew stronger. He was certain they were coming from his right, but when he reached out, nothing was there. He twisted and turned left, and his arm slammed into Present Mic's after he did a full turn. He had been behind him.

Present Mic tapped his wrist again, and Katsuki took a slow breath. Okay, so he had missed one. That wasn't a big deal. He'd get the next one.

He didn't. Or the one after that. Or the one after that. He did get one or two close to the end, and he managed to block a few slow punches when they tried basic attacks, but overall, he had passed a tenth of the tests.

He didn't like that.

Present Mic let him take off the headgear at the end of the session. He waited until Katsuki had his hearing aids in to talk again. "You did well."

Katsuki scoffed. "I was shit. You were right in front of me with that last one and I turned my back on you."

"That's okay," Present Mic said. "You're only starting. I would have been a little worried if you were amazing at this right from the start." He smiled and patted Katsuki's shoulder. "But you really did do well. And you'll get better at it."

Katsuki grunted and held the headpiece tighter. He wasn't sure he wanted to. Getting better meant wearing it properly. "How did you cope with this?" He asked, a whisper.

Present Mic didn't answer for a minute. "Shouta and my friends," he finally spoke. His voice sounded strained, like he was forcing himself to talk at a normal volume for Katsuki's sake. "If it weren't for them…" He shook his head and then forced a smile. "You'll get through this, Bakugou." He clapped his shoulder. "You have more supports than you realise. Now head back to your dorm - we already went over our time."

Katsuki nodded and turned towards the door, but paused. "Thanks for this," he mumbled. "I…" He grit his teeth. "Thanks."

Present Mic's smile became a little less strained. "You're welcome, Bakugou."

* * *

"Alright, Uraraka, you know what's going to happen?"

Ochako nodded, breathing slow and steady through her nose. "You're going to record me answering your questions, and we stop either at seven or when I need to." She sat in a worn armchair, behind the desk in Tsukauchi's office instead of in front of it. He only had a wooden chair in front of it, and he'd said he wanted her to be comfortable, so he gave her the armchair.

The desk was clean, with a few unimportant files stacked in the corner beside a pencil holder with a few pencils and pens and a miniature gay pride flag. Any important ones had been locked away before she even entered the building. The curtains were pulled over the windows that looked out into the rest of the floor, and the door was locked. Kayama hadn't been allowed in, but she was sitting on the couch just outside.

The only thing between her and Tsukauchi was the phone on the desk.

Tsukauchi watched her for a moment, then pressed the recording button. "When did Akaguro Chizome, alias Stain, first make contact with you?"

"When I was five."

"Did you go with him of your own free will or did he force you to? This will in no way impact on his sentence."

It didn't matter. "I chose to go with him." It was better that way.

Tsukauchi glanced down at the clipboard in his hands. "Prior to that you lived with your parents, Uraraka Hatsuharu and Kira, who died in a construction accident?"

"Yes."

"And you were taken in by your aunt?"

Ochako's throat closed in. "Yes." Don't ask anything more. Please. Don't.

"How long was it before Akaguro started training you for missions?"

Thank God. "Not long." Ochako leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. Brown stains hung in one corner, by the bright yellow wall. It looked like tea, but how did anyone spill tea there? "Maybe six months. He started teaching me basic martial arts and helped me learn how to use my quirk."

"When did you start going on missions with him?"

"When I was eight."

Tsukauchi flipped a page. "That was in 2012, correct?"

"Yes."

"Who was the first person you killed?"

"I didn't kill him." Ochako grit her teeth. Chizome never would have allowed that. Not that early. "I just got rid of him. I'd float them up above empty places until they were really high, we'd run, and then I'd release the body when we were far enough away."

Tsukauchi looked up at her. "Okay." His voice was still soft. "Who was the first person Akaguro killed and you got rid of?"

Ochako frowned. "His… I only know his hero name. It was Zeus. He had an electricity quirk."

"Why did Akaguro kill him?"

Ochako met Tsukauchi's gaze. They weren't just trying to help her. They were trying to understand. No. No, that couldn't be it. Maybe they were just trying to close unsolved cases. "Because he hurt children. He killed one of his own kids and then filed a missing person report, and pinned it on one of the villains."

Tsukauchi frowned. "How do you know this?"

"Sei had an IQ quirk."

"Sei?"

"Chizome had other kids like me that he took in," Ochako replied. "I'm the only one who's still around. Once they turned eighteen, he sent them away to do whatever they wanted. He'd give them money, so we didn't have a lot."

"What were their names? And when did he meet them?"

"Sei has an IQ quirk. Chizome took him when he was one - he's the oldest. He was left at the side of the road." Ochako closed her mouth. She had let Sei's name slip, but she wasn't about to do the same for the others. Sei had built an honest life for himself. The others hadn't.

"And the others?"

"I can't say their names on the record."

"Can you tell me how many there were other than you and Sei?"

Ochako chewed her lip and focused on the crack in the wall above the door. It ran from the top of the ceiling to the dark wooden frame. "Three others."

"Okay. Thank you." Tsukauchi looked down again. "Did you have any other source for Zeus killing his child?"

"We double checked it with some people he knew, including his ex-wife. The police had refused to listen to her, or even put her in witness protection." Ochako scowled. "He was going to hurt her if we didn't do anything."

"Okay. What about the first time you killed someone?"

"I was thirteen." It never got any easier.

"Did Akaguro put you up to it?"

"No. He never wanted me to kill anyone."

"So why did you?"

Ochako's breath caught in her throat. She blinked a few times. "He was going to hurt me. And I couldn't get away." She cleared her throat. "I just touched him and let him float away."

"Do you know his name?"

Ochako shook her head.

"Did he attack you?"

She nodded. In a way.

"We can talk more about that later. What about the first hero?"

"It was a week or two later. Her name was Tigress. She-" No. No, she couldn't. She clamped her jaw shut and shook her head.

"Okay." Tsukauchi flipped another page in his clipboard. "Did Akaguro tell you to?"

Ochako shook her head again. He never told her to kill people. Not before the League arrived. "He didn't even know where I was going." She took a slow breath. "After that, he took me out more and let me deal with more, but he didn't ask me to kill anyone until this year."

"What changed?"

"The League of Villains." Ochako dropped her hands from the arms of the brown armchair into her lap. "I didn't know that he was working with them for a while, but he had to be."

Tsukauchi made a note of that as well. "Did he ever mention them?"

"He avoided it, even when I brought it up."

"Okay." He nodded slowly, and turned back to the first page. "Could you tell me more about your aunt, Uraraka Amy, hero name Amythest? Why did Akaguro kill her?"

Ochako's throat closed in again and she choked. "I-" No. No, no, no. Stop it. Stop! She pushed her body out of the chair and ran to the door. She fiddled with the lock for a second, and then yanked it open. Sound filled her ears - phones ringing, one or two people in holding yelling, officers calling things across to one another.

Kayama stood up from the bench she was on. "Uraraka? Are you alright?"

She couldn't breathe. She squeezed her eyes shut. She had to get out. "Can we go?" She whispered.

"I think that's enough for today."

Ochako flinched and moved away from the door to Tsukauchi's office. She hadn't even heard him walk up behind her.

Kayama put an arm around Ochako's shoulders. "I think you're right."

Tsukauchi crouched down a little bit, so he was looking up at Ochako rather than the other way around. "You can decide when you're ready to keep going, okay? And I won't bring that up again if you don't want me to."

Ochako barely managed to nod, and then Kayama was leading her out of the precinct and down to her car in the parking lot below the building. By the time she was able to respond to things again, they were halfway back to the school.

Kayama glanced at her and offered a smile. "Are you back?"

"Yeah." Ochako sighed and leaned her head back against the seat. "Sorry for freaking out back there."

"It's fine," Kayama assured her. She switched gears, and then lanes, and took a left hand turn at the traffic lights. "Do you want a bit more time before we go back?" After a moment, Ochako nodded. "How about we get some food?"

Ochako glanced down. "You don't have to do that." Eating out was too expensive.

"It's fine - I haven't eaten out in a while, and you deserve it." Kayama nudged her. "We don't have to get anything big. Just a burger or a hotdog."

"I can have a hotdog?"

"If that's what you want, then sure."

Ochako chewed her lip. "Okay. Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me for that." Kayama turned on her blinkers and pulled up outside the first chipper she saw. "Here - grab whatever you want, and some chips and a burger for me." She handed Ochako her wallet. "I'll wait here to make sure we don't get a ticket."

Ochako nodded and climbed out of the car. The chipper thankfully didn't have a queue, so she was able to get Kayama's food, and a hotdog with cheese for herself. She hurried back to the car as soon as possible and clambered in. "Go."

"It's okay," Kayama laughed, "we have enough time for you to put on your seatbelt."

Ochako's face flushed, but she touched the closed burger and chip boxes so they floated to the top of the car, and balanced her hotdog on her knees so she could buckle her belt. Once she was done, she released the boxes and caught them in the air. "Ready."

Kayama was smiling as she pulled away from the curb. "It's nice to see you using your quirk for things like that," she said. "Most people wouldn't think of it."

Ochako hummed, cradling her hotdog. It burned her hands a little. "I guess." She looked out the window.

Kayama pulled up into a small section where they could sit in the car and eat, just a ten-minute ride from the school. Ochako passed her the chips and burger, and then nibbled at the bun of her hotdog. It didn't start until she took a bite - she hadn't had a hotdog in years. Not since before Chizome. Before Amythest.

_"Yes, you can have a hotdog. It's your birthday - you can have anything you want today!"_

_"We'll get some take-out tonight, once your mom and I get home from work. You can have your hotdog."_

_"Your parents might have given you shit like that, but they're not here anymore. Got it?"_

She didn't realise she was crying until Kayama's arms were around her, fingers in her hair. "Shh, it's okay," she whispered as Ochako sobbed into the remaining half of her hotdog. "It's okay."

* * *

Katsuki sat hunched in the too-yellow, too-happy waiting room, elbows on his knees. Some shitty radio show was playing, a dull buzz overlapping everything that was being said. It had gone from an ad for McDonald's to a dumb song that had been playing everywhere for two months.

Posters for abuse hotlines, rape crisis centres, and LGBT+ support groups lined the walls. A potted plant sat in one corner, leaves drooping. Someone should really water it. Armchairs littered the tiny room, squashed in together, and between them sat a rickety table with outdated magazines.

Katsuki sank further down into the chair. Fuck this. It didn't matter if it would help his transition - he wanted to get the fuck out. He closed his eyes. The florescent light burned a red pattern onto his eyelids. Maybe he could just convince her to write him a note saying he had dysphoria and could get sterilised so he could change his name and gender. It wouldn't be the first time he'd managed to irritate someone into submission.

But no, that could backfire too easily. He huffed. He was stuck for at least a few sessions. Just until he got the referral.

"Bakugou Katsuki?"

Katsuki opened his eyes and looked towards the door of the waiting room.

There stood a short man with a bob of brown hair and warm eyes in a green sweater and black pants. He smiled. "Is that you?"

Of course it fucking was. He was the only fucking person in the room. But he nodded.

"Great, if you'll just follow me…" He turned away.

Katsuki sighed and dragged himself to his feet. He followed the man out of the waiting room and through a door with a keypad. The next door they went through had a name typed out in rainbow letters taped to it. **Hasegawa**.

The room beyond was better than the waiting room. It was white and small, with blue curtains and a matching carpet. The furniture wasn't a lot better, but at least the decor didn't make Katsuki want to off himself.

Maybe he shouldn't mention that. That could get him stuck with even more sessions.

He dropped into the chair by the window. On a table beside it sat a jug of water, two glasses, and a box of tissues. Who the fuck cried at these things? Katsuki scowled and turned his head away from the table. He wouldn't anyway. Not in a million years.

"Okay, Bakugou, I'm Hasegawa Sei." Hasegawa sat deep into the remaining chair, feet planted on the floor. "Your school sent us on all of your information in regards to health and records, but why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

Katsuki scowled at him. "What do you want to know?"

"Well first of all, whether you'd like me to call you Katsuki or Bakugou."

Katsuki paused. He was more used to Bakugou from school. "Katsuki." It was his fucking name and he should be able to hear it.

"Okay, Katsuki." Hasegawa smiled at him. A scar on his upper lip shone under the light, a touch paler than the rest of his face. "Do you want to tell me why you're here?"

"Cause my school thinks I need it and because I need a gender dysphoria diagnosis." Katsuki crossed his arms, back pressed against the cushions of the armchair. Hasegawa didn't speak up. "I don't fucking know what you want me to say."

"I want you to say whatever you want to talk about."

Katsuki groaned and covered his face with his hands. "How long do I have to be here?"

"I don't usually give diagnoses for about eight sessions," Hasegawa said, "but your school wants you to keep coming anyway. They're handling all the costs for at least the remainder of your first year."

"Fucking great." Katsuki dropped his hands and let his head fall back against the chair.

"Why don't you want to be here?"

"Because I'm not fucking broken." Katsuki glared at the ceiling. Unlike the waiting room, it had a pattern carved into it. Like waves.

"Do you think that you need to be broken to go to therapy?"

"Duh." Katsuki folded his arms.

"But you're here and you're not broken." Hasegawa was smiling. "So not everyone that comes here is broken." Katsuki grunted. "If you think about it this way, your school is handling everything cost-wise, and you get to miss some class to talk about anything happening. Hell, if you want, you can come in and tell me that you just want to spend the hour sleeping. It's your hour."

Katsuki glanced down at him. "I can really come in and sleep?"

Hasegawa nodded. "I mean, you might not want to for the first few sessions so we can get your diagnosis, but it's up to you."

That was a good point. Katsuki sighed and leaned forward a little in his chair. "Fine. What do you want me to talk about?"

"It's up to you." Hasegawa smiled again. "What do you want to talk about?"

Katsuki frowned. "I don't know. Do you want to know about my family or school or some shit?"

"Sure," Hasegawa agreed. "Why don't you tell me about that? Maybe what it was like for you as a kid?"

If he wanted Katsuki to talk about his childhood, why the fuck didn't he just ask? Katsuki resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Fucking therapists. "Mom was loud. Dad was really fucking quiet. Neither of them really cared what I played with or wore, and I just really liked making dolls superheroes and sending them out on missions. I also liked blasting things when I first got my quirk." He shrugged. "I destroyed a chair, and mom just hugged me and we went outside and blasted a whole box of plates."

"That sounds good." Hasegawa tilted his head. "Did you have any friends you shared that with?"

"A few." Katsuki looked away again. "Two kids that I don't talk to anymore and Deku. We thought he was quirkless for a while and I bullied him I guess, but he helped me out when…" He grit his teeth. "When we found out about my ears so I helped him get better at fighting and shit."

"Did he know you were trans?"

"Yeah, we were fucking raised together. He didn't really care though - he started calling me Kacchan the day I told him I wanted to be called Katsuki."

"And the -chan didn't bother you?"

"He called everyone -chan." It had for a while, when he was old enough to process it. But not enough to make him stop. He called him Deku, and he got called Kacchan in return.

"Were your parents supportive?"

Katsuki pursed his lips. "Yeah. My mom didn't really know what was going on, but they both just wanted me to be happy."

"What about any other relatives?"

"We don't speak to them anymore."

"I see." Hasegawa made a note of something. "Did you have a good school experience?"

Katsuki shrugged. "I guess." Everyone followed him. Everyone was scared of him. "I wasn't bullied or anything. People didn't really know that I was trans."

Hasegawa frowned. "Does that mean you've been binding for long?"

"Since I was thirteen with sports bras, and since I was fourteen with binders."

"Okay." He paused. "Okay."

Katsuki frowned. That wasn't good. "Is that bad?"

"You just might want to be cautious with binding. It's not necessarily the safest thing to do for a long period of time." Hasegawa chewed his lip. "It's estimated that it's about five years before chances of complications with chest surgery go up. After ten years…" He shook his head.

Katsuki's head felt tight, like something was pressing in on it. "Five years," he said. "Five." Hasegawa nodded. Katsuki took a slow breath. Okay. Okay, that was manageable. He was only sixteen - he'd only been binding for two years. That just meant he had to get top surgery when he was eighteen or nineteen. But to do that, he had to get his name and gender changed, and be on testosterone for a year.

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a slow breath.

"Are you okay?" Hasegawa asked.

"Yeah," Katsuki muttered. "Fine. I just… I didn't know that."

"That's okay," Hasegawa assured him. "That's why I'm here. I'm going to make sure that you have all the support you need, and I'll help you through this at the very least. I'll do more if you put effort into this. Okay?"

Katsuki lowered his hands and scowled at the carpet. "I'm not broken," he repeated. "But fine. Whatever. I'll do my best."

Hasegawa smiled. "That's all I ask."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review, because I'm honestly getting anxious that no one likes this story. See you sometime soon.**


End file.
